Thursday, April 12, 2018
Substitute for Opioids
I found this interesting article (http://www.ideastream.org/news/some-chronic-pain-sufferers-turn-to-medical-marijuana-instead-of-opioids) talking about the growing trend in people turning to using marijuana instead of opioids.
According to another article: "Horowitz acknowledged that medical marijuana has risks, but not to the extent of an opioid." (https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2018/04/11/medical-marijuana-opioids-pain-relief-safety-overdoses/487101002/) The biggest issue with using medical marijuana as a substitute is that there is a lack of research on the long-term effects of using marijuana as a pain reliever.
I'm interested to know what all of your opinions are on the subject. Do you think medical marijuana is a safer alternative to using opioids? Do you think if marijuana use was nationally legalized that it could help combat the opioid epidemic?
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I personally think that medical marijuana is a much safer alternative to opioid painkillers. The main reason I feel this way is because there has yet to be a case of a marijuana overdose, which is not the same for opioids. While the long term effects have not been fully studied, it is clear that medical marijuana is a much safer form of pain relief than opioid based painkillers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Sai. Medical marijuana is a much safer alternative to to opiod painkillers. A debate can be made on if you actually become addicted to marijuana but marijuana does not have the physical addiction side effects that you see with opioid addiction. You do not hear about ODs on marijuana like you said. I will definitely like to see a longer term study to prove this.
DeleteI agree with what has been said intuit marijuana is a safer alternative. I do not believe people should overuse it though if they are using it as a pain killer. In the case of a pain killer, it should be treated as a treatment instead of a "for fun" drug for those replacing opioids with it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there are many benefits from using marijuana as a form of pain killer. It is far safer than opioids and is a natural substance. I like the point made by both Sai and Brett about zero OD's from cannabis. If we could get rid of the negative stigma surrounding marijuana and ultimately legalize it, we should see far less opioid abuse, as well as economic growth.
ReplyDeleteDo you difference between addiction and dependence is? I might've asked this already, but I'm not sure if I found an answer. I honestly do not know the science behind these drugs, but the stigma behind marijuana seems to be improving while that behind opioids worsens. But maybe if we legalize weed and observe economic growth and less crime, politicians may start to think differently.
ReplyDeletedo you know*
DeleteI think politicians are starting to catch on due to the economic benefits seen in Colorado. Although there has been progress within state governments the real struggle is within the federal government. At and time the federal government can shut down a legally sanctioned marijuana shop.
DeleteYes, I believe marijuana is a safe alternative. The biggest issue is separating recreational use and medical use. Other than that, it is far less addictive, has safer side effects, and has many economic benefits. Marijuana is far less likely to be laced/cut with other harmful drugs than opioids.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely agreeable that marijuana is a much safer alternative to opioids, and for that reason that should be the major push at this time. However, I would like to see the long-term effects through studies before this is considered the safest alternative. Since we do not have any evidence of what could happen in that kind of a time frame, I'm still slightly skeptical.
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