Dispensaries and Medical Marijuana Certifications and Indications: Unveiling the Geographic Connections in Pennsylvania, USA.

Introduction: Pennsylvania opened its first medical marijuana (MMJ) dispensary in 2018. Qualifying conditions include six conditions determined to have no or insufficient evidence to support or refute MMJ effectiveness. We conducted a study to describe MMJ dispensary access in Pennsylvania and to determine whether dispensary proximity was associated with MMJ certifications and community demographics. Methods: Using data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, we geocoded MMJ dispensary locations and linked them to US Census Bureau data. We created dispensary access measures from the population-weighted centroid of Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs): distance to nearest dispensary and density of dispensaries within a 15-min drive. We evaluated associations between dispensary access and the proportion of adults who received MMJ certification and the proportion of certifications for low evidence conditions (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, Huntington's disease, opioid use disorder, and Parkinson's disease) using negative binomial modeling, adjusting for community features. To evaluate associations racial and ethnic composition of communities and distance to nearest dispensary, we used logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for median income. Results: Distance and density of MMJ dispensaries were associated with the proportion of the ZCTA population certified and the proportion of certifications for insufficient evidence conditions. Compared to ZCTAs with no dispensary within 15 min, the proportion of adults certified increased by up to 31% and the proportion of certifications for insufficient evidence decreased by up to 22% for ZCTAs with two dispensaries. From 2018 to 2021, the odds of being within five miles of a dispensary was up to 20 times higher in ZCTAs with the highest proportions of individuals who were not White (2019: OR: 20.14, CI: 10.7-37.8) and more than double in ZCTAs with the highest proportion of Hispanic individuals (2018: OR: 2.81, CI: 1.51-5.24), compared to ZCTAs with the lowest proportions. Conclusions: Greater dispensary access was associated with the proportions of certified residents and certifications for low evidence conditions. Whether these patterns are due to differences in accessibility or demand is unknown. Associations between community demographics and dispensary proximity may indicate MMJ access differences.

Dynamic changes in methadone utilisation for opioid use disorder treatment: a retrospective observational study during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a major public health concern in the USA, resulting in high rates of overdose and other negative outcomes. Methadone, an OUD treatment, has been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of overdose and improving overall health and quality of life. This study analysed the distribution of methadone for the treatment of OUD across the USA over the past decade and through the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study using secondary data analysis of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Medicaid Databases. SETTING: USA. PARTICIPANTS: Patients who were dispensed methadone at US opioid treatment programmes (OTPs). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes were the overall pattern in methadone distribution and the number of OTPs in the USA per year. The secondary outcome was Medicaid prescriptions for methadone. RESULTS: Methadone distribution for OUD has expanded significantly over the past decade, with an average state increase of +96.96% from 2010 to 2020. There was a significant increase in overall distribution of methadone to OTP from 2010 to 2020 (+61.00%, p<0.001) and from 2015 to 2020 (+26.22%, p<0.001). However, the distribution to OTPs did not significantly change from 2019 to 2021 (-5.15%, p=0.491). There was considerable state-level variation in methadone prescribing to Medicaid patients with four states having no prescriptions. CONCLUSIONS: There have been dynamic changes in methadone distribution for OUD. Furthermore, pronounced variation in methadone distribution among states was observed, with some states having no OTPs or Medicaid coverage. New policies are urgently needed to increase access to methadone treatment, address the opioid epidemic in the USA and reduce overdose deaths.

Is Medical Cannabis Evidence-Based Medicine? Concerns Based on Qualifying Conditions and the National Academy of Sciences Report.

This study aims to examine the coherence of state-level qualifying conditions (QCs) for medical cannabis (MC) with the evidence-based conclusions of the 2017 National Academies of Sciences (NAS) report. Data was collected for the QCs from 38 states where MC was legal in 2023 and compared to the QC data from 31 states where MC was legal in 2017. Each condition was divided into a NAS-established category based on the level of evidence supporting their effectiveness. The findings revealed wide variation in the number of QCs between states, with only an average of 8.4% of QCs in each state generally satisfying the substantial evidence category. Over three fourths of states included QCs with limited evidence of ineffectiveness (78.9%) or no/insufficient evidence (76.3%). Additionally, four fifths (81.6%) of states included QCs not covered in the NAS report. Only a few states appeared to have updated their QCs after the NAS report was released. This investigation highlights a large discrepancy between the state-level recommendations for MC and the supporting data.

Examination of methadone involved overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The US opioid overdose epidemic continues to escalate. The restrictions on methadone availability including take-home dosing were loosened during the COVID-19 pandemic although there have been concerns about the high street value of diverted methadone. This report examined how fatal overdoses involving methadone have changed over the past two-decades including during the pandemic. METHODS: The CDC's Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) was used to find the unintentional methadone related overdose death rate from 1999 to 2020. Unintentional methadone deaths were defined using the ICD X40-44 codes with only data for methadone (T40.3). Data from the DEA's Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS) on methadone overall use, opioid treatment programs use, and pain management use was gathered for all states for 2020 and corrected for population. RESULTS: There have been dynamic changes over the past two-decades in methadone overdoses. Overdoses increased from 1999 (0.9/million) to 2007 (15.9) and declined until 2019 (6.5). Overdoses in 2020 (9.6) were 48.1% higher than in 2019 (t(50) = 3.05, p < .005). The state level correlations between overall methadone use (r(49) = +0.75, p < .001), and opioid treatment program use (r(49) = +0.77, p < .001) with overdoses were positive, strong, and statistically significant. However, methadone use for pain treatment was not associated with methadone overdoses (r(49) = -0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Overdoses involving methadone significantly increased by 48.1% in 2020 relative to 2019. Policy changes that were implemented following the COVID-19 pandemic involving methadone take-homes may warrant further study before they are made permanent.

The Potential of Methocinnamox as a Future Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: A Narrative Review.

The opioid epidemic is an ongoing public health crisis, and the United States health system is overwhelmed with increasing numbers of opioid-related overdoses. Methocinnamox (MCAM) is a novel mu opioid receptor antagonist with an extended duration of action. MCAM has potential to reduce the burden of the opioid epidemic by being used as an overdose rescue treatment and a long-term treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). The currently available treatments for OUD include naloxone, naltrexone, and methadone. These treatments have certain limitations, which include short duration of action, patient non-compliance, and diversion. A narrative review was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar databases covering the history of the opioid epidemic, pain receptors, current OUD treatments and the novel drug MCAM. MCAM could potentially be used as both a rescue and long-term treatment for opioid misuse. This is due to its pseudo-irreversible antagonism of the mu opioid receptor, abnormally long duration of action of nearly two weeks, and the possibility of using kappa or delta opioid receptor agonists for pain management during OUD treatment. MCAM's novel pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties open a new avenue for treating opioid misuse.