This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on October 27, 2013.
A study has come out recently showing that in states where medical marijuana has been legalized, the rates of suicide actually fall. The study was performed by 3 American researchers who had their findings published by the Institute of the study for labor in Germany. Undoubtedly this information was unable to make it in a US journal, the statistics actually look valid.
What the researchers did was look at suicide rates in the 3 years preceding legalization of marijuana in multiple states. Then they looked at suicide rates in the year that marijuana legalization took place, and then once again at 3 years after the laws went into effect.
The results showed that suicide rates decreased by approximately 5% on average in the states that legalized medical marijuana. In the 20 to 29-year-old male age group, suicide rate was down by 11%, and a 9% reduction in suicide scene between ages 30 to 39.
The researchers noticed that the total suicide rate was most pronounced in those between ages of 15 and 19 with moderate decreases seen in those over the age of 60. It could be that medical marijuana serves as a substitute for alcohol abuse thereby reducing the risk of suicide that way.