Cannabis Use Linked to Decreased Benzodiazepine Use

Cannabis might be a worthy subsitutiion to consider instead if this study is true as benzodiazepines generally carry highier risks of addiction, misuse, and diversion.  The goal of this project was to understand the impact of cannabis policy changes on the dispensing of psychotropic medications that are used to treat mental health disorders. The authors focused specifically on the privately insured population, and they investigated changes in dispensing for five categories of medications -- those are benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antipsychotics, barbiturates, and sleep medications. We explored how different types of cannabis policies may have different impacts on our outcomes. We included medical cannabis laws, medical cannabis dispensaries, recreational cannabis laws, and recreational cannabis dispensaries.  Prescribing cannabis where state laws allow it, appears to decrease prescription benzodiazepine use. This is a small study and not conclusive, but it points out the possibility that there may be less addictive treatments to mental health ailments with the new cannabis state laws.