Research on Marijuana and Chronic Pain
As a proponent of medical marijuana, one of the recent pieces of research I appreciate the most is around opiate use and pot.
Two different studies found that states that legalized marijuana across the board had lower opiate use rates and fewer opiate prescriptions. A few years ago, another paper found 25% fewer opiate-related deaths in states with medical marijuana. I personally think a lot of the hype against opiates is uncool, but they’ve also almost never worked for me.
With all of this information coming out, it’s a shame that the federal government won’t allow a lot of research directly with pot. The NIH is one of the only places that can participate in this research. Their research position hasn’t been changed in nearly half a century despite many advancements, anecdotal evidence, and changes in popular opinion.
It’s frustrating because we know that cannabis can treat chronic pain effectively for some conditions including multiple sclerosis and RA. With a lack of general pain management, especially with the opiate situation, many patients – like me – are left to experiment.
CBD oil, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in hemp and marijuana, has been found to have a number of medical benefits on its own. It can lower and help control both inflammation and neuropathic pain. It’s known to help with epilepsy and other seizure-causing disorders. CBD oil can also help a great deal with a variety of anxiety disorders including PTSD.
Whether the THC or CBD portions have been utilized, one thing is clear – people have been using marijuana as medicine for millennia.
It’s important to note that no insurance company covers marijuana because it’s illegal in the US. While patients are saving money on opiates as they have to take fewer if any while using pot, their out-of-pocket costs can be quite high. Marijuana always has to be bought with cash and it’s not like you can get discounts on generic pot, either. That said, a few states including New Mexico allow for reimbursement of medical marijuana costs in workers compensation cases. In Canada, however, insurance companies will begin covering medical marijuana soon!
I hope things will begin to change soon. That means, though, that those of us who advocate for the use of marijuana or CBD oil need to start showing up in the political world. That’s the only way these things are going to change.
While we’re at it, I hope that we forgive marijuana-related crimes like San Francisco as we begin to legalize and normalize pot across the board. To say it’s a shame that people are still in jail for pot-related crimes in fully legal states is a gross understatement.