Colorado Opioid Deaths Down 6% After Marijuana Legalization

After Colorado legalized the sale and use of recreational marijuana in 2014, the number of opioid-related deaths declined by more than 6% between 2014 and 2015. Before the state legalized recreational use, opioid-related deaths had been trending up, from about 30 per month in 2000, to 50 per month in 2006, to about 75 per month in 2014. After recreational marijuana was legalized, the number of opioid-related deaths declined from the approximately 75 per month in 2014 to 70 per month in 2015.

These findings were reported in “Recreational Cannabis Legalization and Opioid-Related Deaths in Colorado . . .