Researchers in Arkansas are launching a three-year study to examine how the state’s medical cannabis program relates to patients’ overall health outcomes.
The study, titled “Population Based Analyses of Healthcare Utilization and Outcomes in Users of Medical Marijuana,” is funded by a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, according to a KUAR report. It will be led by researchers with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI).
“We don’t know whether we’re going to have findings that medical marijuana helps, for example, lowering individuals that have pain, their opioid prescription rate, or whether medical marijuana may have unintended effects of having new mental health conditions emerge,” ACHI President Dr. Joe Thompson told the news outlet.
Using six data sources, including the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative’s Arkansas All-Payer Claims Database and Arkansas Department of Health medical cannabis patient registry information, the research will study the type of cannabis products that patients are consuming, their doctors’ visits, emergency room outcomes and motor vehicle accident records, according to KUAR.
“I think there will be a lot of eyes on this study both within the state and across the nation,” Thompson said. “There’s really been no study that, from a population perspective, has looked at the effect of a policy like making medical marijuana available as a new therapeutic. If we find that it has very positive effects, then there may be policy changes that bring it more integrated into the traditional providers of care.”
The study will also look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Arkansas’ medical cannabis program, including changes in cardholder requests, product purchases and healthcare utilization, according to a local KTLO report.
Arkansas voters approved medical cannabis legalization in 2016 and there are roughly 80,000 patients enrolled in the program, KUAR reported.
