Articles: opioid-analgesics.
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To curb the misuse of postoperative prescription opioids, the state of North Carolina enacted the Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act of 2017 limiting the duration of initial postoperative opioid prescriptions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the STOP Act's effect on health care resource use by comparing patient outcomes and opioid prescribing practices following elective anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). ⋯ This may reflect overprescribing in this population, where larger opioid prescriptions were likely not needed to manage pain that would otherwise require a return to care.
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To examine county level associations between the prevalence of medical and recreational cannabis stores (referred to as dispensaries) and opioid related mortality rates. ⋯ Higher medical and recreational storefront dispensary counts are associated with reduced opioid related death rates, particularly deaths associated with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. While the associations documented cannot be assumed to be causal, they suggest a potential association between increased prevalence of medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries and reduced opioid related mortality rates. This study highlights the importance of considering the complex supply side of related drug markets and how this shapes opioid use and misuse.