Reason 1-Blog Post 1: The “Other Option”

Many perceive cannabis as a drug, but in many ways, it can be regarded to as medicine. In 2016, it is not uncommon to meet people who smoke marijuana. The use of medical marijuana as a substitute for opiates and other drugs has become more readily available over the past few years. Cannabis can provide medical help to people with issues like, multiple sclerosis, anorexia,wasting syndrome and much more.

Cannabis is helpful in many ways; for example, according to Ted Bosworth in “For neuropathic pain, marijuana yields modest benefits,” “In a study of long-term safety led by Dr. Ware, a standardized cannabis product containing 12.5% tetrahydrocannabinol was dispensed to 215 current or prior users of marijuana with a non-cancer chronic pain syndrome (Bosworth). Followed for one year, adverse events in this group were compared with 216 control patients who also had chronic pain but were not using cannabis.” This study shows the effects of controlled patients using the leading brand of opiates as opposed to the patients who are using cannabis product containing THC levels of 12.5%. This article also shows pain levels throughout the testing and it states that, “Pain control was also monitored over the course of the study. According to Dr. Ware, average pain scores in the cannabis group fell modestly but consistently over the course of the study. Over the same period, the pain scores rose slightly in the control group.” This leaves many patients that were once opposed to the idea of legal cannabis, to believers of the true effects of the medicine. Dr. Ware has given his opinion in the article on the drug and how it is really just too late to go back to where we stood before on it. He stated, "I think we are past the point where this option can simply be ignored.” He also suggested that legalization of marijuana has fueled a growing acceptance of marijuana as a treatment option whether or not it is prescribed. According to UNODC, World Drug Report 2012, “ An estimate was done that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin.” For this reason, it's necessary to examine the objective evidence to provide appropriate counseling. There is no doubt that we need to educate ourselves more about the effects of medical marijuana and have more testing done since we have been restricted on learning the truth about the drug in the past. The real question is, if it's already proven that neuropathic pain reductions (aka cannabis supplements) were characterized as being on an order similar to those achieved with opioids and anticonvulsants, Then why are most doctors and pharmacies suggesting the option of opiates and other drugs like it to the average customer, knowing the bad effects it has on the human body?     

Word Count: 505

Work Cited:

"America's Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse." National Institute on

Drug Abuse (NIDA). N.p., 14 May 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

Bosworth, Ted. "For neuropathic pain, marijuana yields modest benefits." Family Practice News

1 Sept. 2016: 13+. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.