A new study suggests that individuals are actually using Medical Marijuana not simply as an excuse to get high, but as a treatment for health problems.

The study senior researcher W. David Bradford stated that states in America that pass medical marijuana laws were inclined to experience a significant drop down in prescriptions for ailments that could be treated with cannabis. Bradford is also the chairman of public policy with the University of Georgia's Department of Public Administration and Policy.

At the same time, Bradford also pointed out that there hasn't been a decrease in prescriptions for drugs that deals the conditions for which marijuana wouldn't help much or at all, according to HEALTH.

The researchers found out that the a large decrease in the average daily doses of prescription painkillers was caused by patients who often use medical marijuana to treat their pain.

Because of that, Bradford stated that medical marijuana could play a role in reducing overdose deaths caused by prescription opiates, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine and codeine.

Dr. Daniel Carr, the president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine and director of pain research at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, said that by altering a person's mood - Marijuana could help treat pain, in the same way that Marijuana also can help treat depression and anxiety.

However, from Dr. Carr's point of view, Marijuana needs more research for it to be considered as a true alternative to prescription drugs.

In 2013, Medical Marijuana saved about $165 million in Medicare. The researchers estimated that if medical Marijuana was nationalized in the same year, Medicare Part D spending would have declined about $470 million, KHN reported.

Bradford said that they wouldn't say that saving money is the reason to adopt Medical Marijuana. It's an indirect evidence that people are using Marijuana as medication.

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Tags Marijuana, Marijuana legalization, Tufts University, Medical marijuana, Health