The Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Agency recently rescheduled marijuana, moving Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and state-regulated medical marijuana products to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Among other downstream impacts, this decision will allow for fewer restrictions on clinical research and is anticipated to accelerate drug development and support evidence-based FDA oversight of marijuana-derived products – many of which apply to pain management...

Regardless of these varying stances, research into marijuana’s ability to treat pain – and its relationship to opioid use – has continued.

• At a population level, a Workers Compensation Research Institute study from 2023 found that the adoption of state recreational marijuana was associated with a 9.7% decrease in claims with opioids in workers’ comp.

Read the full article from Healthesystems here.  The WCRI study that they mention is Impact of Recreational Marijuana Laws on Workers’ Compensation Benefits.  Visit its page on our website for more information, including details of how you can get access to a copy!