A reader working in drug policy writes:
It's worth noting that this might not only represent a trend of people moving from more dangerous illicit narcotics to less dangerous ones, but also from more addictive and lethal prescribed drugs to less dangerous ones.
According to the CDC, about 27,000 people die of overdoses on legal prescribed drugs every year, often opiates like oxycontin used for relief of severe, chronic pain. Most people who use marijuana for medical purposes do so to control pain, and an emerging theory is that many of those people who are using medical marijuana are doing so to avoid the long-term damage to their livers and other internal organs caused by prescribed painkillers. In other words, marijuana acts as a "reverse gateway," allowing people to move off of toxic and potentially lethal drugs like percocet, valium, and oxycontin, and onto marijuana instead.
With the growing number of medical marijuana states, and consequently the growing number of medical marijuana users, this would be an interesting theory to explore. Unfortunately, despite our president and drug czar's claims that the "war on drugs" is over, it's not, and SAMHSA doesn't distinguish between medical and recreational marijuana use.
The Dish 