Medical marijuana use reduces the intake of prescription medicine
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Medical marijuana use is legal in Illinois, and health experts soon noticed a significant improvement in their patients. A recent report documenting medical cannabis consumption and its effects revealed a decrease in the use of other medicine and drugs, such as opioids. This is great news, and might indicate a possible solution to the opioid crisis.
Medical marijuana use as a solution to the opioid epidemic
The report was developed by scientists from Rush University and DePaul University, and looked at the prescription drug use among the 34 patients who received medical cannabis in the special Illinois program. These people admitted that they resorted to medical marijuana use as a substitution for other drugs, especially opioids, together with painkillers or anti-inflammatory medicine.
All the 34 participants had an average age of 45. They declared they preferred medical marijuana use to classic prescription drugs since it acted much faster, and was more effective against the symptoms. Also, medical cannabis led to less negative side effects.
The rates of prescription drug use declines in states where medical cannabis is legal
This is not the first study which analyzes the beneficial effects of medical cannabis. These previous reports showed how it was better in dealing with the symptoms, had few to no side effects, and helped patients avoid the addiction problem. Also, medical marijuana might work as a complementary treatment to improve the effect of prescription medication.
However, researchers need more thorough studies until they can reach a final conclusion on medical marijuana use. This report had a small sample of participants, and was merely observational. Also, it was based on volunteering, so other users might experience different symptoms.
Even so, the study might suggest medical marijuana use is a real solution to the opioid crisis. A previous report revealed those states where medical cannabis was legal had a rate of opioid-related deaths lower by 25 percent. This present study has been published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
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