The researchers looked at prescriptions filled by Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (or Part D) enrollees from 2010 to 2013. They then narrowed the prescriptions down to ones that could be substituted with medical marijuana. Those prescriptions were for ailments that included anxiety, depression, glaucoma, nausea, pain, psychosis, seizures, sleep disorders and spasticity.
Their results found that there were fewer prescriptions filled for the majority of those categories. The pain category, for instance, saw a decrease in 1,826 daily doses, while the depression category saw a 265 daily dosage decrease.
As the researchers noted in their release, they specifically looked at glaucoma patients’ use of marijuana.
“It turns out that glaucoma is one of the most Googled searches linked to marijuana, right after pain,” Dr. David Bradford of the university’s School of Public International Affairs, who co-authored the report, stated in the university’s release.
The eye disease can be extremely painful and lead to blindness for some patients. Those sufferers who use marijuana, however, can experience a 25 percent decrease in eye pressure that’s caused by the condition, according to the release.