How Medical Marijuana Can Mitigate the Opioid Crisis

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that in 2015 over 30,000 deaths were attributed to opioid drugs. Since 2002 this number has increased by 2.8 fold. In a country that has just 5% of the world’s population, CNN reported that the United States consumes 75% of the world’s opioid prescriptions. As America faces this growing opioid epidemic, there is an urgent need to find alternative methods of pain management for patients with chronic pain and those experiencing severe pain. Cannabis advocates and progressive doctors have touted the pain-relieving benefits of medical marijuana for years. Pro-cannabis doctors, nurses, and patients have swayed public opinion enough so that marijuana for medicinal use has been legalized in numerous states. This important legislation allows patients to use medicinal cannabis for chronic pain as well as a variety of other ailments. 

Although more progressive states have allowed the use of medical marijuana and many doctors and patients have seen the benefits, further research is essential to inform federal policy, especially as the US opioid crisis seems to be spiraling out of control. According to a recent report on CNBC, drug overdose rates in the US topped 60,000 people in 2016. Opioids such as Fentanyl, 50-100 times stronger than morphine, are largely to blame for the increase in deaths due to drug overdose.

As much as cannabis research is needed to help curb American’s opiate appetite, currently, it is nearly impossible to study medical marijuana in the United States because it remains classified as a Schedule I drug, with “no recognized medicinal value.”

A Harvard Medical Study, examining pain in patients, found that 90% of those tested indicated that using medical marijuana helped reduce their pain. More importantly, it was noted that 81% of the patients indicated a lower likelihood of using opioid medications for the same symptoms. Furthermore, according to a survey of nearly 3,000 patients done by the Center for Medical Cannabis Education, Bastyr University Research Institute, and the Department of Medical Research, Center for the Study of Cannabis and Social Policy, nearly 36% of them indicated that they had eliminated their opioid medications in exchange for medical marijuana.

More and more studies are pointing to the benefits of replacing opioids with medical marijuana for pain relief. As the U.S. opioid crisis continues to develop, it is becoming increasingly critical that labs, educational institutions, and the United States government conduct more research. As a society, we need to do whatever we can to help stem the tidal wave of deaths caused by opioid overdose.

Do you know someone who was prescribed opioid medication and is currently addicted? If so, have you spoken with them about the pain-relieving benefits of medical marijuana? Please share this information with your physician to be certain that he or she understands the medicinal benefits of cannabis. It’s particularly important to share this information with patients as well. That way, the decision making power resides with the patient, as it should be.