Marijuana has become important in helping curb opioid addiction
In 2016, 63,332 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses. Of this amount, two-thirds of the overdoses were from dependency on opioids and this number continues to grow, according to the Center for Disease Control. The agency points out that ten states have seen opioid-related deaths double in less than a year – from 2015 to 2016 – and death rates in 21 states have continued to increase. These facts are unsettling, but there is an easy and readily available alternative. Marijuana has become an important tool in helping to eliminate the lab-based drug.
Prescription drugs like opioids have always been known to carry certain unwanted side effects. Of course, death shouldn’t be one of them. However, this is a too-common occurrence with opioids, which are often prescribed to help patients deal with chronic pain. As the positive characteristics of marijuana continue to be discovered, and confirmed, Mother Nature’s wonder drug is being shown as both an all-natural painkiller, as well as a way to wean opioid addicts off the pharma drug.
Marijuana and hemp are types of cannabis. As a whole, they have been found to contain a number of compounds that can fight a variety of ailments, from pain relief to cancer to Parkinson’s disease. Not only is cannabis more effective than lab-based chemicals at attacking the ailments, it has not been shown to provide any negative side effects that would make its use worrisome.
In addition, cannabis is not overly addictive, at least not when compared to pharma drugs. Studies have shown that the level of cannabis addiction is comparable to that of alcohol. To date, there has not been a single overdose death attributed to cannabis.
Cannabis is also more affordable than prescription drugs. It can be grown at home, where legalized, and can grow virtually anywhere. Weighed against the negative traits associated with opioids, the cannabis family is the hands-down winner in pain relief and can help save countless lives directly, as well as prevent many more unnecessary drug overdoses.
