Cannabis v. Opioids

The American Medical Association (AMA) published a study on medical marijuana. Cannabis provides “significant improvements” in the quality of life for people with cancer, chronic pain and insomnia. Cannabis appeared to increase wellbeing indicators.

Additionally, the beneficial effects remain over time. The common conditions treated include are non-cancer chronic pain, cancer-related pain, insomnia and anxiety.

“The use of cannabis as a medicine is becoming increasingly prevalent,” the study says. “Given the diverse range of conditions being treated with medical cannabis, …, clinical evidence incorporating patient-reported outcomes may help determine safety and efficacy.”

Researchers did not note any serious adverse side effects. The medical benefits of cannabis far outweigh any potential negative societal effects.

“These findings suggest that medical cannabis treatment may be associated with improvements in health-related quality of life among patients with a range of health conditions.”

-researchers from the Swinburne University of Technology, University of Western Australia and Austin Hospital.

A separate AMA study found that chronic pain patients given medical cannabis for longer than a month saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids.

Another study from the University of Colorado found that consistent marijuana use is associated with improved cognition and reduced pain among cancer patients.

AMA also published research connecting state cannabis legalization with reduced opioid prescribing for cancer patients.

Numerous studies have linked cannabis legalization and self-reported marijuana use to reduced opioid prescribing and overdose deaths.

Marijuana legalization is also associated with notable reductions in prescribing of opioid codeine.

Cannabis is medicine. We allow access to tobacco and alcohol with no medicinal purposes. When will South Carolina allow medical marijuana?