Carrieri, Vincenzo, Madio, Leonardo and Principe, Francesco (2020) Do-It-Yourself medicine? The impact of light cannabis liberalization on prescription drugs. Journal of Health Economics (74).

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Identification Number : 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102371

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.

Item Type: Article
Language: English
Date: December 2020
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Light cannabis, self-medication, marijuana, difference-in-difference, prescription drugs, CBD.
Subjects: B- ECONOMIE ET FINANCE
Divisions: TSE-R (Toulouse)
Site: UT1
Date Deposited: 09 Sep 2020 14:19
Last Modified: 13 Mar 2021 12:27
OAI Identifier: oai:tse-fr.eu:124652
URI: https://publications.ut-capitole.fr/id/eprint/41762
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