The Atlantic

The Misplaced Optimism in Legal Pot

A new study throws cold water on hopes that more liberal cannabis policies could stem the opioid epidemic.
Source: Mathew Sumner / AP

Nearly five years ago, a team of researchers performing a study on medical cannabis came to a startling conclusion: The 13 states that had legalized medical marijuana had a 25 percent lower rate of opioid mortality than those that hadn’t.

The study wasn’t designed to find an explanation for the trend, but the authors speculated that, perhaps, some chronic-pain patients who otherwise would have

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic7 min readAmerican Government
Could South Carolina Change Everything?
For more than four decades, South Carolina has been the decisive contest in the Republican presidential primaries—the state most likely to anoint the GOP’s eventual nominee. On Saturday, South Carolina seems poised to play that role again. Since the
The Atlantic4 min read
Hayao Miyazaki’s Anti-war Fantasia
Once, in a windowless conference room, I got into an argument with a minor Japanese-government official about Hayao Miyazaki. This was in 2017, three years after the director had announced his latest retirement from filmmaking. His final project was
The Atlantic5 min readAmerican Government
What Nikki Haley Is Trying to Prove
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Nikki Haley faces terrible odds in her home state of

Related Books & Audiobooks