This is Why Big Pharma is Afraid of Legal Medical Cannabis…

A few years ago, we published an article that highlighted the impact that legal cannabis was having on the opioid epidemic in the United States (US).

In that article, we covered research data from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study provided evidence that showed that in 2014, states with legal medical cannabis programs had an opioid overdose rate that was 25% lower than the national average.

Earlier this week, we came across additional data that supports this trend and wanted our readers to be aware of this. According to Clevescene.com., researchers that were analyzing states where cannabis was legal determined that there was a 26% reduction in pharmacy-based distribution of codeine. Based on the data, researchers from the study said that after four years many states experienced as much as a 37% drop and we find this to be of great importance.

According to Clevescene.com, Shyam Raman, a doctoral candidate at Cornell University and lead author of the study, said, “A reduction in the misuse of opioids will save lives. Our research indicated that recreational cannabis laws substantially reduce distribution of codeine to pharmacies, an overlooked potential benefit to legalizing recreational cannabis use.”

Based on the numbers and the conclusions from researchers, we are not surprised that big pharmaceutical companies have been lobbying against the legalization of medical cannabis. If medical cannabis was legalized, these firms would lose billions of dollars.

Over the next few years, we expect the US Congress to pass legislation that would legalize medical cannabis. We believe the legalization of medical cannabis would fuel a merger and acquisition (M&A) trend by pharmaceutical companies and expect this to be a catalyst for cannabis companies.

If you are interested in learning about biotech cannabis companies that could benefit from the legalization of medical cannabis in the US, please send an email to support@technical420.com with the subject “Biotech Cannabis Leaders” to be added to our distribution list.

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Michael Berger is Managing Partner of StoneBridge Partners, LLC and Founder of Technical420.com. Prior to entering the cannabis industry, Michael was an Equity Research Analyst at Raymond James Financial covering the Energy Sector. Michael has been featured in publications such as The Street, Bloomberg, US Money News, and hosts various cannabis events across North America.

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