“Patients with a diagnosis of cannabis use filled a significantly reduced volume of opioids … after [surgery] compared to their control counterparts,” scientists determined.
Topic: Opioids/Drugs
“[T]he ability of whole-plant cannabis extracts to reduce opioid reward and drug seeking behavior appears quite robust and of great clinical utility,” authors concluded.
Over 90 percent of respondents said that cannabis use reduced their average pain by at least half.
“[I]n human volunteers, THC has no significant effect on ventilatory control after placebo or oxycodone pretreatment,” investigators concluded.
Among those taking prescription medications at the onset of the study, 65% ceased their use of opioids, 60% stopped using antidepressants, and 58% ceased their use of anticonvulsants.
Researchers concluded, “The evidence is sufficient to establish a potentially beneficial association between recreational marijuana legislation and prescription opioid patterns.”
“People may be obtaining codeine from pharmacies for misuse; recreational cannabis laws reduce this illicit demand.”
“[M]easures related to cannabis dispensaries … were generally consistently associated with lower drug overdose mortality outcomes across multiple studies,” investigators concluded.