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(NEWSER) – The solution to America's addiction to painkillers may be … more drugs? A new study found a drop in painkiller overdose deaths in 13 states that allowed medical marijuana, CNN reports.

That's because a patient prescribed marijuana will either stop taking opioids or take less of them, researchers theorize. From 1999 to 2010, researchers found that in the year following passage of a medical marijuana law, states saw a 20% decrease in opiate overdose deaths compared to states without one; that grew to 33% over the following six years, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Abuse experts say marijuana may stem "runaway rates" of opioid overdose, which have tripled since 1991 in the US and are now responsible for 46 deaths per day, adds Newsweek.

Read the full story on Newser.com

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