Since we live in a world with devastating opioid crisis and epidemic, the need for alternatives that will help you reduce addiction and overdose from chronic pain medication is essential.
According to most evidence, patients are seeking natural ways to reduce chronic pain and get off prescription medications, and the best way to do it is to get medicinal cannabis or to use it on your own.
Even though most states nowadays have allowed the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, there are still federal regulations that you should learn about, and it forbids the use of marijuana.
However, information that patients choose weed instead of prescription drugs is a much better alternative than picking heroin. We recommend you to check a Test Clear article so that you can learn how to pass a cannabis drug test with ease.
Intentional Substitution
According to one study published in the Journal of PainResearch, they wanted to understand why people decided to throw away prescription and other types of drugs so that they can substitute it with cannabis as a healthier alternative.
This particular study team has accessed a wide array of pain medications that were substituted, as well as the frequency of substitution and socio-demographic features of these patients because research is vital for the final data.
They evaluated 2800 patients from the self-selected sample,and most of them reported that they have been using cannabis at least once in the last three months. The idea was to see whether weed can be a useful substitute, and most of them came from Washington State through Facebook page and cannabis dispensaries.
The key findings stated that more than one-half of participants and respondents reported that they were using cannabis as the alternative for prescription drugs. Among them, the most common types of substituted drugs were uploads, Benzes,and antidepressants.
Cannabis is an excellent choice and critical solution that will help the opioid epidemic that fights this particular idea. When we search and check the previous analysis from the same survey, we can see that patients stated that cannabis was effective for pain much more than other addictive drugs.
When it comes to anxiety and depression which common mental issues are among people with chronic pain, this also affected the overall result and patients notices that they were much better after consuming weed when compared with medications.
Drug substitution was much higher among medical cannabis users when compared with non-medical,and it was much more significantbecause it helped deal not just with pain but also with depression and anxiety, which are common issues.
Even though a slightlymore significant percentage of people reported that they lived in states, where medicinal marijuana is legal at the time, the difference was not substantial,and that only proved a point.
When it comes to substituting weed for prescription drugs, the frequency increased with age that reached up to 65,and it was most common for females. Older patients used more medications than younger ones,and they are more sensitive to side effects.
Apart from that, the higher number of substitutes happened among women, and that indicates that women are more likely to use alternative or integrative medicine than men are.
They also suggest that women are also more likely to use antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications, and they experience monthly menstrual cycle as well as symptoms such asanxiety and depression due to it.
Important Things to Remember
Findings that this particular study has shown stress the importance that physicaleducation is vital when it comes to quality interaction with patients especially on this specific topic.
In some cases, it is important to monitor patients for side effects as well as withdrawal symptoms prescription drugs, and you should think about drug interaction with other pills.
These findings are an example that patients decided to take control of their addictions and healthcare representativebecause they lost faith in addictive prescription medications and wanted to choose alternative ways to feel better.
Cannabis Can Be Perfect Substitute for These Prescription Medications
- Opioid Painkillers – The most popular painkiller from this particular type of opioids is Vicodin,and we know it through Dr. House and other TV series that we have seen throughout our lifetimes. Studies have shown that marijuana features effects that will help people suffering from chronic pain and other issues related to it. According to CDC, 50 Americans die every single day from painkiller overdose, and no one has ever died from a weed The worst thing that could happen is to fall asleep.
- Anti-anxiety Medication – Using Xanax and other anti-anxiety medications can also be addictive but have in mind that smoking pot can cause mild anxiety and paranoia, but if you decide to use a strain that features lower levels of THC and higher levels of CBD, you will be able to fight with anxiety and reduce it in overall. Have in mind that some strains such as sativa can cause anxiety especially among infrequent users, while indica can reduce overall anxiety for both long-term and short-term users. You should check this website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety to learn more aboutanxiety.
- Stimulants – Prescription stimulants such as Adderall have been used for people to treat attention deficit disorder. It is a much better choice for people to choose weed instead because some strains of cannabis can treat loss of concentration and this particular disorder. You should have in mind that sativaismuch better choice when compared with indicas when it comes to treating ADHD.
- Sleep Aids – The best thing that you can do is to avoid sleeping aids altogether and to go for cannabis instead because you can create severe issues for your problems and prolong insomnia after you stop using them. According to most studies, weed is a similar and safer alternative for treating sleeping deprivation and insomnia than prescription drugs.
- Antidepressants – Most weed patients have found that cannabis is an effective treatment for clinical depression and the perfect alternative to medications such as Zoloft. Even though it is not right for everyone, the research has shown that smoking pot has less severe side effects when compared with long-term usage of anti-depressants.
