Feds Study Effect Of MMJ On Opioid Use
CategoriesAnalysis/Opinion, Culture, Medical, Research by

Feds Study Effect of MMJ on Opioid Use

 What would you do with access to MMJ and $3.8 million dollars?opioid treatment

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health Systems get to find out if medical marijuana reduce opioid dependence. Researchers were granted the sum to fund the first in a new round of long-term studies. While past studies have tested cannabis in pain management in HIV and cancer patients, this has a different focus.
This study will officially investigate the effectiveness of medical marijuana in treating opioid addiction. Investigators explained their reasons in a media release by the associate chief of general internal medicine Chinazo Cunningham. She claims “There is a lack of information about the impact of medical marijuana on opioid use in those with chronic pain,” and “We hope this study will fill in the gaps and provide doctors and patients with some much needed guidance.”
There are many people who claim cannabis helps opioid users with chronic pain step down their use to safer levels. A minority of users also report that they can completely eliminate their opioid dependence with cannabis. The hope is that patients can remove their dependence entirely but only studies like this can prove it to be true or false.

The study focus on adults with HIV, chronic pain, and it uses real MMJ.opioid treatment

Study participants include 250 HIV- positive and negative adults with chronic pain. Subjects are also required to have a doctors recommendation for medical marijuana. This is the fist study of its kind to use state approved dispensaries to provide the cannabis.
Federal contractors in Mississippi normally provide “research grade” cannabis that has a THC content below 10%. Stored improperly by design and seemingly produced by putting a whole plant in a food processer, almost any dispensary would reject it. This cannabis is known as NIDA weed and these researchers decided they didn’t want it in their study.
Instead of using federally obtained NIDA cannabis like past studies, this one will use cannabis from New York dispensaries. This cannabis is produced and processed by master growers, passes laboratory testing, and has THC content between about 15% and 30%.

Up until now, evidence is mostly anecdotal.

Many people have moving personal stories but they fail to prove anything. We can’t forget the ‘placebo effect’ or projection when listening to a single person tell their story. This study offers 250 people the opportunity to produce the first peer-reviewed research on the safety and effectiveness of cannabis in treating opioid addiction.
This long-term study will also span 18 months and include web-based questionnaires every two weeks. The questionnaires focus on pain levels and the effect of medical and illicit cannabis on opioid dependence. Blood and urine samples get submitted every three months in-person at specified medical facilities. In-depth interviews of participants will explore their perceptions of how marijuana affects their opioid use.
HIV patients suffer from opioid addiction more than other populations. But there is conflict on how many actually suffer in silence. Past studies claim that over 90% of HIV patients suffer from chronic pain while others claim the number could be as low as 25%. With opioids as the go-to pain treatment for most doctors, there is a high risk for misuse and subsequent addiction.

The cards are stacked against cannabis reducing opioid use.

Medical marijuana has made serious strides in legitimizing itself as a treatment for pain. Twenty-nine states (plus the District of Columbia) have legal marijuana use in some way. Chronic pain and HIV/AIDS are qualifying conditions in all of those states.
Yet researchers have never explicitly studied whether or not medical marijuana reduces opioid use over time. Most studies attempt to prove marijuana doesn’t treat medical conditions but fail to do so. This looks at the possibility of treating pain with similar skepticism.
The best part about science is that all the evidence counts. Despite researchers personal desires, the results speak for themselves. This study is no different. “As state and federal governments grapple with the complex issues surrounding opioid use and medical marijuana, we hope to provide evidence-based recommendations that will help shape responsible and effective healthcare practices and public policies,” Cunningham said.

Medical cannabis promises hope to opioid abusers.

HIV and AIDS patients across the globe have claimed cannabis treats their pain. This is the first step in a new phase of medical research. Instead of using the lowest possible quality of weed, they plan to look at real people using real cannabis. The results will likely add to the mountain of evidence that supports medical marijuana.
There is still a long time to go before the results come in. Long-term studies take loads of time to analyze the data. Years pass before researchers publish results. Especially in studies like this. It may be two or more years before anyone can make a claim about the effectiveness of marijuana treating opioid addiction based on this research. We have to sit tight until then.
But if the past has taught us anything, it is that marijuana is a more powerful healer than we ever thought possible. This is just the first of a new wave of research but the results look to direct the following discussion heavily. Let’s just hope that those in power listen to the research.
 
 

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CategoriesAnalysis/Opinion by

Healthcare Bill Increases Opioid Addiction

Opioid addiction is ravaging the nation.

Over reliance on drugs like Vicodin and opioids by physicians has contributed to the groundswell of people struggling to overcome chemical dependence and opioid addiction. One of the emerging treatments uses cannabis in place of harsh or dangerous pharmaceuticals with unknown side effects.
1 in 3 Americans directly affected by the addiction epidemic. The low risk and cost of cannabis compares well to the wildly fluctuating pharmaceutical prices. Mandates around pre-existing conditions and mental health services in the Affordable Care Act helped expand Medicaid and insure millions for the first time in their lives.

Lawmakers decide killing up to 24 million is better than doing nothing.

Access to many of the essential addiction and mental health services people have come to depend on are getting removed. The 24 million Americans who can afford it the least will be expelled from treatment. Republicans voted to pass the American Health Care Act before they even knew how much it would cost.
After years of chanting ‘repeal and replace’, the Republicans had their chance to present an alternative. Yet they had literally nothing ready. Even when they were voting on the bill, they didn’t even know how much it would cost. But lawmakers were so zealous to pass ANYTHING that they willingly signed a blank check and hoped someone else would clean up the bodies.
According to an NPR interview with President Obama’s director of National Drug Control Policy (NDCP)Michael Botticelli, “I think it’s not hyperbolic to forecast that we’re going to see dramatic increases in mortality associated with drug overdose deaths [if the proposed bill goes into effect],”

Many organizations predict catastrophe for 24 million people.

It’s not just the NDCP that thinks the republican led healthcare bill will lead to more deadly opioid addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine sent a letter (PDF) warning Congress that the Republicans’ American Health Care Act will reduce coverage for vulnerable populations, including those who suffer from addictions.
Most states have medical marijuana laws in place that require a doctor’s recommendation. Many people are only able to obtain their medical marijuana cards because the Affordable Care Act forced insurance companies to include regular checkups. Millions of people on the low end of the economic spectrum could finally obtain the treatment they needed for years. Until the Republican led American Health Care Act was forced through the legislature at least.
The new AHCA doesn’t operate in a vacuum. The Trump budget plan cuts funding for mental health treatment in addition to the changes made in the healthcare bill. At the same time, it provides additional funding to drug enforcement. This will create more deadly clashes between police and the mentally ill. Clearly, the current lawmakers are Disturbed and Drowning Pool fans because they are Down with the Sickness to Let the Bodies hit the Floor. Although I’m pretty sure those bands have done more to promote mental health.