WORKWEEK

State by state cannabis legalization directly benefits the economy in several ways. 

Here are a few of my favorite examples: 

Approximately 12.5% of Colorado’s total revenue supports the state’s public school system. 

One report found property values rose $17,113 more in recreational states.

The legal U.S. cannabis industry supports almost 500,000 jobs. 

Since COVID-19’s onslaught, the healthcare industry has been forced to adapt in ways we’ve never seen. 

• There was a 25% increase in anxiety and depression in the pandemic’s first year, which healthcare workers must respond to
• There have been over 6 million deaths from COVID-19 across the world
• Hospitals are facing staffing shortages with employees out sick, quarantining, and caring for sick family members
• Healthcare workers are facing serious mental health concerns – 45% of nurses felt they had no emotional support at the height of the pandemic. 

If there’s a way to support the healthcare industry: we need to do it.

Cannabis legalization can play a small, but important role in alleviating the healthcare industry’s heavy load. 

A study published in Health Affairs found that Medicare Part D spending would drop by $468.1 million if medical cannabis was legal in all 50 states. 

It’s a small fraction of Medicare’s total spending, but it’s a consistent way to contribute to Medicare cost savings, as Medicare is forecasted to be insolvent by 2026 due to dwindling Part A funds. 

Medicare Part D spending represents about 15% of total Medicare spending, or $111 billion. Drug spending will continue to be one of the fastest growing costs in healthcare and is expected to grow at a 6.1% annual clip over the next 5 years, according to Blake. 

Researchers at The University of Washington found that alcohol, cigarette, and pain reliever misuse decreased following cannabis legalization. 

• 25% to 40% of all U.S. patients in general hospital beds are being treated for complications of alcohol-related problems. 
• Adult cigarette smoking accounts for 11.7% of all U.S. annual personal healthcare expenditures. This totaled $226.7 billion in 2014. 
• Opioid misuse, overdose, and dependence cost the United States $35 billion in annual healthcare costs 

The unfortunate reality is that the American healthcare system doesn’t always help people recover from alcoholism, nicotine addiction, and opioid misuse. 

Highlighting these statistics isn’t to shame people struggling with addiction, but to highlight how beneficial cannabis legalization can be for the healthcare system AND patients.  

Research indicates that cannabis can be used as a powerful harm reduction tool, but more studies need to happen before it’s offered clinically. 

Clinical use cases for cannabis 

Cannabis has a variety of uses in a clinical setting. Here are a few things Blake and I are excited about:

Chronic Disease Management: We’re in the early stages of understanding use cases for medical cannabis.

Anecdotally, a number of patients report that medical cannabis alleviates symptoms and drives down usage of other prescription medication, leading to higher quality of life.

Cannabis is like a Swiss Army knife. Patients who consume medical cannabis experience less pain, sleep better, reduce stress, etc. Chronic disease is linked to things like stress and poor sleep.

There are wide opportunities for cannabis use cases in healthcare and that can lead to better patient outcomes.

Hospitalizations: A 2014 study found that states who legalized medical cannabis prior to 2010 had 25% fewer annual opioid overdoses. 

Medical cannabis could save millions in drug spending, but Blake predicts it could save state health departments billions of dollars because of reduced hospitalizations. 

“As the mental health state of our country deteriorates and overdoses hit all-time highs, access to medical cannabis could actually…save lives. Increased cannabis adoption along with more funding for mental health facilities could go a long way to keep ODs out of the ER,” Blake said.

Drug Innovation: There are still plenty of insights and innovation to learn from studying medical cannabis because of the existing stigma and lack of studies. 

Just one cannabis-derived product has been approved by the FDA: Epidiolex. Epidiolex is derived from CBD and used to treat seizures. They have also approved three synthetic cannabis-related drugs: Marinol, Drobinal, and Cesamet. 

The future drug innovation in cannabis is why large pharmaceutical players are betting big. In December 2021, Pfizer acquired Arena Pharmaceuticals for a colossal $6.7 billion. In February 2021, Jazz Pharmaceuticals bought GW Pharmaceuticals for $7.2 billion. 

Both acquired companies are making moves in the cannabinoid-derived drug space and Big Pharma wants to get in. 

What I’m thinking 

Although the potential for cannabis in healthcare is clear, we’re still in the beginning stages of being adopted by mainstream healthcare systems. 

“Cannabis and future cannabinoid-related drugs should be studied to determine the impact these use-cases could have on reducing opioid overdoses, increasing quality of life, and saving costs downstream in hospital ERs and drug spend,” says Blake.

But of course, cannabis is a federally illegal substance. This makes it nearly impossible to conduct clinical research. 

Institutions like UC San Diego have funded cannabis research to fill the federal gap. 

I predict that if federal legalization arrives in the next 5 years, the whole healthcare industry will not adopt it right away. Insurance companies, private practices, etc. can choose to not work with cannabis at all. 

State by state cannabis legalization directly benefits the economy in several ways. 

Here are a few of my favorite examples: 

Approximately 12.5% of Colorado’s total revenue supports the state’s public school system. 

One report found property values rose $17,113 more in recreational states.

The legal U.S. cannabis industry supports almost 500,000 jobs. 

Since COVID-19’s onslaught, the healthcare industry has been forced to adapt in ways we’ve never seen. 

• There was a 25% increase in anxiety and depression in the pandemic’s first year, which healthcare workers must respond to
• There have been over 6 million deaths from COVID-19 across the world
• Hospitals are facing staffing shortages with employees out sick, quarantining, and caring for sick family members
• Healthcare workers are facing serious mental health concerns – 45% of nurses felt they had no emotional support at the height of the pandemic. 

If there’s a way to support the healthcare industry: we need to do it.

Cannabis legalization can play a small, but important role in alleviating the healthcare industry’s heavy load. 

A study published in Health Affairs found that Medicare Part D spending would drop by $468.1 million if medical cannabis was legal in all 50 states. 

It’s a small fraction of Medicare’s total spending, but it’s a consistent way to contribute to Medicare cost savings, as Medicare is forecasted to be insolvent by 2026 due to dwindling Part A funds. 

Medicare Part D spending represents about 15% of total Medicare spending, or $111 billion. Drug spending will continue to be one of the fastest growing costs in healthcare and is expected to grow at a 6.1% annual clip over the next 5 years, according to Blake. 

Researchers at The University of Washington found that alcohol, cigarette, and pain reliever misuse decreased following cannabis legalization. 

• 25% to 40% of all U.S. patients in general hospital beds are being treated for complications of alcohol-related problems. 
• Adult cigarette smoking accounts for 11.7% of all U.S. annual personal healthcare expenditures. This totaled $226.7 billion in 2014. 
• Opioid misuse, overdose, and dependence cost the United States $35 billion in annual healthcare costs 

The unfortunate reality is that the American healthcare system doesn’t always help people recover from alcoholism, nicotine addiction, and opioid misuse. 

Highlighting these statistics isn’t to shame people struggling with addiction, but to highlight how beneficial cannabis legalization can be for the healthcare system AND patients.  

Research indicates that cannabis can be used as a powerful harm reduction tool, but more studies need to happen before it’s offered clinically. 

Clinical use cases for cannabis 

Cannabis has a variety of uses in a clinical setting. Here are a few things Blake and I are excited about:

Chronic Disease Management: We’re in the early stages of understanding use cases for medical cannabis.

Anecdotally, a number of patients report that medical cannabis alleviates symptoms and drives down usage of other prescription medication, leading to higher quality of life.

Cannabis is like a Swiss Army knife. Patients who consume medical cannabis experience less pain, sleep better, reduce stress, etc. Chronic disease is linked to things like stress and poor sleep.

There are wide opportunities for cannabis use cases in healthcare and that can lead to better patient outcomes.

Hospitalizations: A 2014 study found that states who legalized medical cannabis prior to 2010 had 25% fewer annual opioid overdoses. 

Medical cannabis could save millions in drug spending, but Blake predicts it could save state health departments billions of dollars because of reduced hospitalizations. 

“As the mental health state of our country deteriorates and overdoses hit all-time highs, access to medical cannabis could actually…save lives. Increased cannabis adoption along with more funding for mental health facilities could go a long way to keep ODs out of the ER,” Blake said.

Drug Innovation: There are still plenty of insights and innovation to learn from studying medical cannabis because of the existing stigma and lack of studies. 

Just one cannabis-derived product has been approved by the FDA: Epidiolex. Epidiolex is derived from CBD and used to treat seizures. They have also approved three synthetic cannabis-related drugs: Marinol, Drobinal, and Cesamet. 

The future drug innovation in cannabis is why large pharmaceutical players are betting big. In December 2021, Pfizer acquired Arena Pharmaceuticals for a colossal $6.7 billion. In February 2021, Jazz Pharmaceuticals bought GW Pharmaceuticals for $7.2 billion. 

Both acquired companies are making moves in the cannabinoid-derived drug space and Big Pharma wants to get in. 

What I’m thinking 

Although the potential for cannabis in healthcare is clear, we’re still in the beginning stages of being adopted by mainstream healthcare systems. 

“Cannabis and future cannabinoid-related drugs should be studied to determine the impact these use-cases could have on reducing opioid overdoses, increasing quality of life, and saving costs downstream in hospital ERs and drug spend,” says Blake.

But of course, cannabis is a federally illegal substance. This makes it nearly impossible to conduct clinical research. 

Institutions like UC San Diego have funded cannabis research to fill the federal gap. 

I predict that if federal legalization arrives in the next 5 years, the whole healthcare industry will not adopt it right away. Insurance companies, private practices, etc. can choose to not work with cannabis at all.