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Do-It-Yourself medicine? The impact of light cannabis liberalization on prescription drugs

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  • Carrieri, Vincenzo
  • Madio, Leonardo
  • Principe, Francesco

Abstract

Governments worldwide are increasingly concerned about the booming use of CBD (cannabidiol) products. However, we know little about the impact of their liberalization. We study a unique case of unintended liberalization of a CBD-based product (light cannabis) that occurred in Italy in 2017. Using unique and high-frequency data on prescription drug sales and by exploiting the staggered local availability of the new product in each Italian province, we document a significant substitution effect between light cannabis and anxiolytics, sedatives, opioids, anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. Results are informative for regulators and suggest that bans on light cannabis use would disregard the needs of patients to seek effective reliefs of their symptoms.

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  • Carrieri, Vincenzo & Madio, Leonardo & Principe, Francesco, 2020. "Do-It-Yourself medicine? The impact of light cannabis liberalization on prescription drugs," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:74:y:2020:i:c:s0167629620301132
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102371
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    2. Madio, Leonardo & Principe, Francesco, 2023. "Who supports liberal policies? A tale of two referendums in Italy," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
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    4. Anderson, D. Mark & Rees, Daniel I., 2021. "The Public Health Effects of Legalizing Marijuana," IZA Discussion Papers 14292, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Rahi Abouk & Keshar M. Ghimire & Johanna Catherine Maclean & David Powell, 2023. "Pain Management and Work Capacity: Evidence From Workers’ Compensation and Marijuana Legalization," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(3), pages 737-770, June.
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    7. Darden, Michael E. & Papageorge, Nicholas W., 2024. "Rational self-medication," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    8. Davide Fortin, 2023. "Light cannabis as a substitute for addictive substances: A cross-sectional analysis of survey data in France and Italy," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2023 10, Stata Users Group.
    9. Verzulli, R.; & Lippi Bruni, M.;, 2022. "The quicker the better: Fostering timely responses in public hospitals," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 22/08, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Light cannabis; Self-Medication; Marijuana; Difference-In-Difference; Prescription drugs; CBD;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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