Pubdate: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 Source: Times-Tribune, The (Scranton PA) Copyright: 2014 Townnews.com Contact: http://www.thetimes-tribune.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4440 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n923/a08.html MARIJUANA LIFESAVER Editor: Regarding your Dec. 15 editorial (Our Opinion, "Authorize Medicinal Pot"), medical marijuana has lifesaving benefits that extend beyond patient relief. New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that states with access to medical marijuana have a 25 percent lower opioid overdose death rate than states where marijuana is prohibited. This research finding has huge implications for states like Pennsylvania that grapple with prescription narcotic and heroin overdose deaths. The substitution effect was documented by California physicians long before the recent JAMA research. Legal marijuana access is correlated with a reduction in opioid and alcohol abuse. The marijuana plant is incapable of causing an overdose death. Not even aspirin can make the same claim, much less alcohol or prescription narcotics. The phrase "if it saves one life" has been used to justify all manner of drug war abuses. Legal marijuana access has the potential to save thousands of lives. ROBERT SHARPE POLICY ANALYST, COMMON SENSE FOR DRUG POLICY, WASHINGTON, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom