University of Georgia researchers say in the American Journal of Health Economics that marijuana has a role to play in reducing the impact of the opioid epidemic.
Opioid overdoses killed more than five Arizonans daily in 2023.
University of Georgia researchers reviewed claims by insured patients between 2007 and 2020. They found dispensary openings in states with legal marijuana were tied to significant reductions in all opioid outcomes. And they found that patients who were given opioid prescriptions received less when medical marijuana was available.
According to the CDC, more than 3,000 Arizonans died of drug overdoses between October 2024 and 2025, which is a nearly 25% increase from the year before.
More Arizona Marijuana News
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The Trump administration reclassified medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug in April. A weekslong hearing on whether to put recreational use in the same category starts Monday in Washington, D.C. -
Respondents to a survey in Colorado expressed interest in trying cannabis as an alternative to pharmaceutical medications and because they had exhausted other interventions. -
The company is a growing operation, and according to Aeriz’s website, it uses 95% less water than traditional soil farming, in a state that desperately needs it. -
The name Trulieve is on more than 20 marijuana dispensaries in Arizona. -
A payment processor for marijuana dispensaries has been ordered by the Arizona Corporation Commission to pay back retirees hundreds of thousands of dollars.
