Researchers at the University of Georgia have found that prescribing patterns change with the implementation of state-level medical marijuana programs, according to a recent Health Affairs report. They found the use of drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for which marijuana could serve as a clinical alternative fell significantly once a medical marijuana law was implemented by states.

This translated to a decrease in expenditures of $165.2 million per year for Medicare Part D enrollees, and the researchers project savings equaling about 0.5 percent of all Part D spending if all states had approved medical marijuana use during this period.

The baseline data on all prescriptions filled by Medicare Part D enrollees from 2010 to 2013 contained more than 87 million physician-drug-year observations, and analysis was restricted to nine clinical categories where marijuana is legislated to be an alternative by the 17 states and District of Columbia.

The most significant decrease in prescription drug use associated with medical marijuana approval was for pain (1,826 fewer daily doses filled annually per physician). Far and away pain had the largest raw number of prescriptions and the biggest reduction in costs.

This suggests marijuana — a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act — could be useful for diverting patients away from opioids. According to study co-author David Bradford, "In other research on states where medical marijuana laws include the use of dispensaries, researchers have noticed a positive beneficial opioid effect and impact on death."

Finding significant cost savings for Medicare Part D suggests other programs might also enjoy budgetary reductions when medical marijuana laws are implemented. For example, Medicaid represents a younger population — more open to the use of marijuana. Bradford and his team have already analyzed data in the State Drug Utilization Database and "noted the same direction of effect, but a larger magnitude effect than we observed with Medicare Part D."

Experts agree that more research to understand the individual components of marijuana and qualitative information is needed. Amending the Schedule I designation is the first step to helping researchers get started so that patient outcomes and cost savings, including for hospitalized patients can be evaluated.

While cost savings may not be enough of a reason for widespread use of medical marijuana, it does justify more research to see if funds could truly be freed up to fill gaps in other areas of this financially stressed healthcare delivery system.