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Title: Survey: Pain patients overwhelmingly prefer medical marijuana over opioids
Source:
ArsTechnica
URL Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/201 ... edical-marijuana-over-opioids/
Published: Jun 29, 2017
Author: Beth Mole
Post Date: 2017-06-29 12:14:32 by Tooconservative
Keywords: None
Views: 10086
Comments: 46
Of those who used both opioids and cannabis, 92% say they prefer the latter. When patients have a choice between opioids and medical marijuana for a painful condition, an overwhelming majority say they prefer marijuana, that it works just as well, and has fewer side effects, a new survey finds. Though the survey, involving 2,897 medical cannabis patients, didn’t track actual drug use or efficacy, the findings fits with previous data. Decades of research suggest marijuana is effective for pain treatment. And recent studies have found that in states with medical marijuana availability, there are fewer opioid overdose deaths and doctors fill fewer opioid prescriptions. The authors of the new survey, led by Amanda Reiman of the University of California, Berkeley, say the data furthers the need to examine marijuana as a “viable substitute for pain treatment,” particularly in light of the devastating opioid epidemic now gripping the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that opioids killed more than 33,000 Americans in 2015, and estimates that 91 people in the US die each day from the highly addictive drugs. Though people using marijuana can develop use disorders, it is virtually impossible to die of an overdose—no marijuana overdose deaths have ever been reported to the Drug Enforcement Administration. “A society with less opioid dependent people will result in fewer public health harms,” the authors of the new study note. For their survey, the researchers partnered with (but were not paid by) HelloMD, an online community for medical cannabis patients. Of the 2,897 patients recruited for the survey, 63 percent were using marijuana for pain-related conditions, such as fibromyalgia, back pain, and arthritis. About 30 percent, or 841 patients, also reported using an opioid currently or in the past six months. Of those 841, 92 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they preferred cannabis over opioids for their condition. And 93 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they were more likely to pick cannabis over opioids if both were readily available. Most also said that cannabis was just as effective at relieving pain as opioids, with 71 percent agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement. Last, 97 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they could cut down on opioid use if cannabis is available. The researchers found similar results when they asked about non-opioid pain medication use (see data above). The survey has limitations. It’s pulling from a self-selected group of cannabis users, for one, so they may be biased. The survey data also doesn’t include actual drug use data or efficacy, just perceptions, which may be skewed. Researchers need more data to make firm conclusions. But with the data available, the authors suggest that “providing the patient with the option of cannabis as a method of pain treatment alongside the option of opioids might assist with pain relief in a safer environment with less risk.” Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2017. DOI: 10.1089/can.2017.0012 (About DOIs). Poster Comment: A few spiffy charts at Ars if you click over there. 
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 22.
#1. To: Tooconservative (#0)
Opioids are the strongest medication for pain available. Marijuana has the pain relief of Tylenol. To compare the two is ludicrous. E-mailing a survey to marijuana users and asking them about the efficacy of marijuana is like e-mailing a survey only to Lexus users and asking them what kind of car they prefer. What a joke.
THC is pretty worthless for pain relief, either sativa or indica. CBD, however, has a pretty strong body effect. CBD is not the usual pot high. Recreational pot is high in various types of THC and related compounds (cannabinoids). I don't find it hard to believe that opioid users find it easier to quit if they're using a CBD extract. CBD does have an effect but you wouldn't call it "stoned" or even "high".
If you're in the kind of pain where you need opioids to neutralize it, marijuana is not even on the radar. On the other hand, if marijuana treats what little "pain" you have you should not be taking opioids.
I'm sure that all sounds good to you, typing away on your keyboard. But in the real world, people are addicted to opioids with many turning to street drugs if their scripts get cut off (in the ongoing Great Opioid Crackdown). There is no comparison of the reduction in harm if someone is using CBD and staying off opioids. Or just reducing their opioid use considerably.
We're on the same page. And I agree that if an opioid addict can't get his fix, marijuana is better than nothing. All I'm saying is that there's no comparison between the two drugs. Not the "high". Not the medical value. This article is simply a propaganda piece.
I think it might help people kick or at least reduce their opioid habit. If so, we do have an opioid crisis in this country. Keep in mind: the hippies were always after the THC. No hippie ever wanted a CBD "high" because it's too mild. The medical marijuana people are almost exclusively interested in the CBD and try constantly to reduce the amount of THC that ends up in their CBD products. Most of them try to get down to around 2% THC in their CBD products. Whether THC is ever accepted medically is an open question. I think the various forms of CBD will eventually be recognized medically as being as useful as aspirin against a variety of ailments, just as they are today for stimulating appetite for cancer patients, treating glaucoma and severe epilepsy. I think we'll see that in 5-10 years, possibly a little sooner.
It was the first cannabinoid to be accepted medically (Marinol).
Back then, few people other than chemists had any idea that CBD was useful for anything. Look at the years wasted for people suffering glaucoma. I had a friend who had a hemispherectomy (removed half his brain) due to severe epilepsy back in the Nineties. He still functions pretty well. But today, he might choose to try a CBD medicine instead of radical brain surgery.
There are a dozen different FDA-approved medicines for glaucoma*. Sure, you could smoke marijuana to reduce intraocular pressure. The effect lasts about 3 hours. Meaning you'd have to smoke dope 8 times a day, every day, to have the same effect as an eye drop. Plus, you're high all the time and you may damage your optic nerve. Betagan drops cost $12 (without insurance) and will last a month. Don't tell me marijuana is cheaper. *Medicine choices Medicines that decrease the amount of fluid produced by the eye include: Medicines that increase the amount of fluid that drains out of the eye include: Some medicines have two different medicines mixed into one bottle.
And yet many people suffering glaucoma and appetite loss still prefer cannabis solutions over Big Pharma products. You want to stop this. You're outraged that you're in a vanishingly small cult of old-time drug warriors. Give it up, Elliot Ness. No one gives a crap about Reefer Madness any more.
#25. To: Tooconservative (#22)
Bullshit. They're smoking dope to get high. Less than 5% of "medical" marijuana users have cancer or AIDS. Most patients say they want it for pain, sleep disorders, anxiety or depression -- all subjective reasons. Untreated, glaucoma may lead to blindness. It's a serious disease. Would you treat your glaucoma with marijuana?
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestThe survey was administered through e-mail to a database of 67,422 medical cannabis patients in the state of California using the HelloMD patient database. 2897 responded.
#3. To: misterwhite, Pinguinite (#1)
Opioids are the strongest medication for pain available. Marijuana has the pain relief of Tylenol. To compare the two is ludicrous.
#4. To: Tooconservative (#3)
#5. To: misterwhite (#4)
#9. To: Tooconservative (#5)
But in the real world, people are addicted to opioids with many turning to street drugs if their scripts get cut off (in the ongoing Great Opioid Crackdown).
#11. To: misterwhite (#9)
We're on the same page. And I agree that if an opioid addict can't get his fix, marijuana is better than nothing.
#16. To: Tooconservative (#11)
Whether THC is ever accepted medically is an open question.
#17. To: misterwhite (#16)
It was the first cannabinoid to be accepted medically (Marinol).
#21. To: Tooconservative (#17)
Look at the years wasted for people suffering glaucoma.
•Beta-blockers (such as Betagan, Betimol, Ocupress, and Timoptic).
•Adrenergic agonists (such as Alphagan and Propine).
•Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (such as Azopt, Diamox, and Trusopt).
•Hyperosmotics (such as Osmitrol).
•Cholinergics (such as Isopto Carpine, Phospholine, and Pilopine).
•Adrenergic agonists (such as Alphagan and Propine).
•Prostaglandin analogs (such as Lumigan, Travatan, and Xalatan).
#22. To: misterwhite (#21)
Replies to Comment # 22. And yet many people suffering glaucoma and appetite loss still prefer cannabis solutions over Big Pharma products.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 22.
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