Medical marijuana prescriptions could have saved Medicaid $1 billion on prescription drug costs if it were legal nationwide, according to a new study.
The study comes as the Trump administration is aiming to clamp down on state legalization of recreational pot. And Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recently said that the benefits of medical marijuana are overhyped. Currently 28 states and the District of Columbia have some type of medical marijuana law.
The study, published in the journal Health Affairs Tuesday, was intended to examine whether patients are subsituting medical marijuana for prescription drugs and looked at all Medicaid prescriptions from 2007 to 2014 in states with medical marijuana laws.
Researchers found that total Medicaid savings associated with the laws ranged from $260.8 million in 2007 to $475.8 million in 2014.
Overall, Medicaid spent just under $23.9 billion for prescription drugs for 2014, meaning medical marijuana saved about 2 percent of costs.
Researchers estimate that if all 50 states adopted medical marijuana, Medicaid would have saved $1 billion in prescription drug spending in 2014.
The study said those savings indicate that patients look at medical marijuana as a medicine.
That finding, alongside another study that came to a similar conclusion for Medicare Part D, could be pivotal in the federal debate over the legality of marijuana. While eight states have legalized recreational use of marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law.
The Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a schedule I drug alongside other illegal narcotics such as heroin and cocaine. For a drug to be downgraded to schedule II, which makes it legal but puts controls on use, it would have to be a clinically accepted medical use.
“Our work adds to the literature that shows the potential clinical benefits of marijuana,” the study said.
The Obama administration turned a blind eye to enforcing fedreal law in states that passed recreational laws, but Sessions in recent weeks indicated he intends to take a much tougher stance. He appointed a task force this month to re-evaluate marijuana policy.
