Contributor: Bill Simpson
For decades, marijuana activists have fought tooth and nail with the federal government to decriminalize cannabis. These misguided politicians would assume these passionate folks were simply trying to “get high.” So they would rely on their criminal mis-categorization of cannabis as their main platform of propaganda. Essentially, saying that they (the federal government) considers marijuana to be a Schedule One substance that is not only dangerous, but absent of any medicinal applications whatsoever.
That, obviously, is a dramatically false statement. In lieu of politicians doing the right thing and recategorizing and decriminalizing cannabis, they’ve gone ahead and allowed the sale and distribution of opioids to slowly take over this country. The results have been depressing, to say the least.
Not only are these “Fat Cat” politicians getting rich from prescription companies stuffing their pockets with “hush-money” but an addiction epidemic has grown to become one of this nation’s biggest concerns. The opioid crisis is claiming countless lives every single day, while the government stands idly by. Cannabis is a far safer medicine that could help patients feel relief without a shred of negative side effects. In fact, in most cases, they do a much more efficient job at curing patients of their discomfort than these expensive, addictively lethal opioids.
This sort of information isn’t based on “word of mouth” or hearsay. It is based on cold, hard facts. Scientific data has been collected to prove that cannabis, not only helps people feel better, but it’s a far safer alternative to opioids in every sense of the word. Marijuana for pain relief has been a hot-button subject in society for years, and even though scientists continue to provide Congress with test after test, showing the numerous benefits cannabis has when used as medicine, they stubbornly continue to ignore the facts.
If you suffer from chronic pain, marijuana is here to help. You don’t need to waste your time or money on those harmful pills. That will only lead to more issues. With cannabis, pain relief can be an instant occurrence, without any of those lethal risks you would find with opioids. That fact, alone, has been proven time and time again.
A recent Harvard study was conducted that looked at 28 cases, in which they specifically analyzed how exo-cannabinoids can help folks deal with chronic pain and various medical issues. The main researcher and author of the publicized study wrote, “Use of marijuana for chronic pain, neuropathic pain, and spasticity due to multiple sclerosis is supported by high quality evidence.” To be specific, 6/6 chronic pain cases all experienced massive improvements in their symptoms. Same could be said for all of their 5 neuropathic cases, as well.
What’s really great about results like that, is that cannabis was seen to do a much better, more efficient job at making the user feel better than prescription pills. Opioids often boast about how their specific chemical formula is dedicated to optimize their healing properties. But that is just a bold-faced lie.
These pills are designed to be addictive. Greedy pharmaceutical companies rely on repeat business, so they are money-motivated to get users “hooked” on their product. They could care less about making people feel better. They create these pills that do a fraction of what they promise, so as to get away with their pledges of comfort and relief, from a legal standpoint.
They then leave their customers weakened and newly addicted to their opioids. Before long, folks can’t afford their prescriptions anymore, but their addiction is just as powerful as ever. Which, as you could assume, leads them towards harder street drugs (like heroin) in order to fulfill their addiction’s needs.
This story never has a good ending. But every tale of using cannabis for chronic pain is the exact opposite – and the scientific community knows it!
The Chief of Hematology/Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital, Dr. Donald Abrams, didn’t mince words when asked to offer up his two cents on the matter. When asked how he felt about using marijuana for chronic pain over opioids, Dr. Abrams said, “Given the safety profile of cannabis compared to opioids, cannabis appears to be far safer. However, if a patient is already using opioids, I would urge them not to make any drastic changes to their treatment protocol without close supervision by their physician.”
He’s merely suggesting that opioid users take baby steps in getting off their pill routine, because any sudden, drastic change in their regular dose could result in a plethora of addiction-related side effects. Patients who take opioids with any sort of regularity must wean themselves off of these addictive chemicals, so as to let their body ease itself back into a state of self-control.
That’s how dangerous opioids are. Since 1999, this country has seen an increase of 400% when it comes to opioid use. Forty people every day die from an overdose related to opioids. Yet, they aren’t considered a Schedule One narcotic by the federal government. Which makes absolutely no sense. That is where cannabis can come in and save the day.
Not only would cannabis help users with their discomfort and chronic pain, but it would, at the same time, ease them off of opioids altogether. Such was seen during a case study at the University of Michigan back in 2016. There, they published some data that revealed that cannabis improves one’s quality of life, reduced opioid usage by 64%, and it decreased the side effects brought on by other medications, as well.
Basically, when cannabis sees a problem, it sniffs it out, and gets rid of it almost instantly. In its place, it leaves a soothing sense of serene relief and maximum comfort – with absolutely zero side effects of its own. Well, unless you count sleepiness as a side effect.
Dr. Daniel Clauw was one of the main folks behind that University of Michigan study, and he knows firsthand how much cannabis could help end the opioid crisis. After releasing his findings a handful of years ago, Dr. Clauw made a statement about the growing epidemic surrounding prescription pills. He said, “We are learning that the higher the dose of opioids people are taking, the higher the risk of death from overdose. [The] magnitude of reduction in our study is significant enough to affect an individual’s risk of accidental death from overdose.” Which should be more than enough for the federal government to change their minds on cannabis, right? Well, apparently not.
As we know, everyone’s body is different. People take to cannabis in very different ways. Sometimes, one form of marijuana is better than others – simply based on that individual’s genetic makeup and experience with cannabis, in general. The same mentality goes for medicinal marijuana users. One patient, for example, said, “Everyone will respond differently. For me, I found smoking can worsen my symptoms, while low dose edibles work the best.” At the end of the day, it is all about finding what works best for you and your specific needs.
Personally, I feel like the head doctor at Marijuana for Trauma up in Canada, Dr. Michael Hart, said it best when he stated, “When considering cannabis to treat chronic pain, the adage ‘less is more’ rings true. Patients seem to find more relief in indica strains which are higher in THC than most sativa or hybrid strains. What we’ve found is that these strains can be highly effective in low to moderate doses, but could actually make pain worse in higher doses. So, it’s important to start low, and titrate up as appropriate.”
He’s exactly right. It’s always best to gradually test the waters of cannabis, but with a little trial and error, you’ll soon find what works best for you. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can kiss those expensive, addictive opioids goodbye.
