Rahi Abouk is a health economics professor, and director of the Cannabis Research Institute, at William Paterson University. Abouk is also the lead author of this recent study, titled "Does Marijuana Legalization Affect Work Capacity? Evidence from Workers' Compensation Benefit", which is published in the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The study focuses on the impact of state recreational marijuana laws on workers' compensation claims among adults between the ages of 40-62.
What researchers found is that claims decline, as do non-traumatic workplace injuries and the frequency of work limiting disabilities, as the aging workforce transitions away from traditionally prescribed pain medication to marijuana.
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"We found that this population group substitutes cannabis for other pain medication treatments such as opioids, which improves their capacity to work, thereby making fewer mistakes and reducing injuries," said Abouk.