For years it has been debated that we could vastly improve our medical care if we allowed cannabis as a form of pain relief. The argument has been the same for many years – if we give people a natural option that is non-addictive then we will have less overdoses and deaths.

After all these years it seems the results are finally starting to come in. A <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/states-medical-marijuana-painkiller-deaths-drop-25-266577">study was done a few years back</a> and <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26051162">again recently</a> that proves a significant drop in opiate related overdoses and deaths in states that have legalized medical marijuana.

There are several factors that could tie in here to create this effect. The first being if there are safer alternatives most people will take it. Considering the obvious risks of commercially made opiate medications it would not surprise me if more people would ask to be prescribed cannabis over the alternative.

One may choose to argue that it was the downfall of the “pill-mills” that made the difference – but that would not make an impact of such consistency over such a long period of time. The evidence has been around for years – ever since the first few states took the step to legalize medical marijuana.

You may be shocked to find out that <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/opioid-prescribing/">46 people die every single day from prescription painkiller overdoses</a>. Even worse – heroin has become more and more of a problem as we finally tighten the watch on prescription pain medications.

Though it seems this whole situation could have been simply avoided – if we had just offered a safer and natural solution long before now. The numbers don’t lie.

The best part – this is the first true evidence that can put an end to the “gateway” theory once and for all! After all – if states with access to marijuana have less overdoses then they likely have less addicts, but more medicinal and recreational smokers in their place.

All it takes is a small change and a little bit more care on the healthcare provider’s side. After all – part of the problem is still that prescriptions are being handed out like candy to some people – and worse, withheld from people who cannot live comfortably without it.

Having cannabis as an option clearly did a lot of good – a roughly 25% decrease in deaths good – to each state which has chosen to allow it for medical purposes.

If the rest of the country would just follow this trend we may be able to significantly reduce the number of people suffering from opiate addiction.