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.