Marijuana: safer than opioids?
Weed, pot, reefer, grass, Mary Jane, hash, herb – no matter you name it, marijuana traditionally has had a nasty status as an unlawful avenue drug. Marijuana elicits photos of highschool children hiding in loos, faculty events stuffed with smoky air and the gateway drug to tougher addictions.
But within the midst of an opioid epidemic within the Blue Water Area, some advocates argue that utilizing marijuana to deal with persistent ache is a safer, much less addictive different to narcotics.
Tom Owens, a medical marijuana consumer and licensed caregiver, proposed to Brown City City Council in March to open a marijuana dispensary inside the metropolis limits. After consulting with town legal professional, the council determined to desk the choice till extra state guidelines are put in place. In the meantime, Owens will proceed to cater to his 5 sufferers.
As a persistent ache affected person himself, Owens is aware of the challenges of managing ache, accessing therapy and getting evening’s relaxation. Owens had a hip substitute and continued again issues, along with a coronary heart assault. He noticed the hazards of opioid habit in mates and neighbors, and wished to keep away from that for himself. In addition, the narcotics that his doctor initially gave him brought about a large number of negative effects, together with gastrointestinal upsets.
After reviewing analysis articles, Owens determined to strive cannabis to deal with his ache.
“I’ve got to be hurting pretty bad to take half a piece of (cannabis) candy,” Owens mentioned. “I don’t usually take it until I am done for the day, and I sit in the chair and relax and take half a piece of candy and sleep like a baby. If you go a lot of nights without sleep, you realize how important it is. But I’m 63 years old, so everything hurts on me.”
For anybody who questions his choice to deal with his ache with cannabis relatively than narcotics, Owens urges them to delve into current analysis on their very own.
What the analysis reveals
In St. Clair County, the unlawful use of prescription ache tablets and heroin continues to rise. In 2016, 308 grams of heroin was confiscated by the St. Clair County Drug Task Force, a virtually 50 % enhance from 2015. In 2015, 48 overdose deaths have been reported. And 2016 got here to an finish with three deadly overdoses reported within the metropolis of Port Huron in a 15 hour span from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, 2017.
While native officers work to fight the epidemic and discover actual options, extra neighborhood members proceed to die from deadly overdoses. Owens not solely advocates for cannabis as solution to deal with persistent ache, but in addition as a safer different to interchange opioids.
A research printed a 12 months in the past by researchers on the University of Michigan School of Public Health reported that sufferers utilizing medical marijuana to fight persistent ache reported a 64 % discount of their use of opioids.
Kevin Boehnke, the lead creator of the research, mentioned whereas cannabis does have the potential for abuse and habit, in addition to different long-term results like bronchitis, he mentioned the trade-off is value it when in comparison with opioids. He mentioned opioids current unfavorable negative effects that cannabis doesn't, similar to gastrointestinal upsets and constipation. He mentioned sufferers utilizing cannabis reported fewer negative effects and higher high quality of life.
In addition, he mentioned marijuana has not led to any deadly overdose deaths, like opioids have.
A current research out of the University of California-San Diego reported that, on common, the hospitalization charges for opioid overdoses dropped 13 % and hospitalization charges for opioid dependence dropped by 23 % in states that allowed using medical marijuana.
Similarly, a 2014 research performed by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health discovered that “in states where it is legal to use medical marijuana to manage chronic pain and other conditions, the annual number of deaths from prescription drug overdose is 25 percent lower than in states where medical marijuana remains illegal,” in response to a Johns Hopkins press launch.
“We believe patients are substituting the use of opioids with cannabis, which is not associated with overdoses or other clinical risk factors that opioids are associated with, so marijuana may present a safer alternative to opioids,” mentioned Brendan Saloner, co-author of the Johns Hopkins research and assistant professor of well being coverage and administration at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Saloner mentioned the largest good thing about cannabis is that there isn't a danger of overdose. He mentioned marijuana just isn't related to the identical sort of psychological dependence that opioids create. While marijuana might be addictive, it is extremely totally different.
“The key thing to think about with opioids, when people use, the brain literally has a strong craving impulse, and then they stop using opioids they experience a physical painful withdrawal and often need medication to help manage their dependence,” Saloner mentioned. “Marijuana doesn’t have that kind of issue.”
Opioids overdoses additionally result in respiratory despair, which is a critical medical conditional that causes an individual to lose consciousness and may trigger their important organs to cease functioning. This is why opioid overdoses might be deadly.
“There are no cases of that kind of thing happening when people consume a lot of marijuana,” Saloner mentioned. “But there are other (non-fatal) reasons why people using marijuana may seek medical attention like psychosis or if they become disoriented.”
Opposition
Boehnke mentioned whereas extra analysis is rising to help using marijuana to deal with persistent ache, there are nonetheless many physicians who're cautious to help it.
Physicians don't write prescriptions for cannabis, however certify that their affected person has a medical situation that qualifies them below state legislation to acquire a medical marijuana use license. Since it’s not a prescription, there's much less regulation and that may make some medical doctors nervous to encourage using the substance.
“Unlike an opioid prescription that has a known standard, the quantity of active ingredients in marijuana is not regulated by the FDA,” Boehnke mentioned. “Cannabis has many different active ingredients. It is grown by many different people. It is not standardized and there are many different ways to ingest it. There’s a lot of uncertainty for doctors, which pushes some physicians to say, ‘Let’s try something else first.’”
Saloner mentioned extra analysis nonetheless must be performed concerning the results of marijuana. He mentioned a few of the well being dangers of marijuana are usually not but totally understood. He mentioned abuse of marijuana can create issues as any substance abuse can, similar to impacting household life and careers. Using cannabis whereas working a car can result in accidents.
“There is pretty solid evidence now that marijuana is an effective tool for managing some symptoms related to pain, but it may come with its own risks and they are very real and important to think about in the broader public health perspective,” Saloner mentioned.
Charlene McGunn, Mobilizing Michigan director, mentioned as a result of marijuana just isn't an FDA-approved substance, customers can’t make sure how highly effective every dose is. She mentioned a lot of the analysis supporting medical marijuana use is simply anecdotal analysis. Mobilizing Michigan is an academic motion began by the Chippewa Valley Coalition for Youth and Families, primarily based in Macomb County, to guard children from marijuana.
“What we do know is that marijuana is extremely potent and much stronger than it was decades ago,” she mentioned. “We do know it is addictive, and very damaging to developing brains. Use of marijuana in adolescence can lead to use of opioids and heroin in adult life.”
Michell Tincknell, Owens’ daughter and a registered visiting nurse, is working along with her father to convey the dispensary to Brown City. Some of the sufferers she works with as a visiting nurse use cannabis to deal with their persistent ache. Tincknell mentioned that the largest delusion about marijuana she hears is that it's a “gateway drug” that results in using tougher substances.
In 2015, extra than 90 % of Michigan medical marijuana customers listed "treating severe and chronic pain" as their cause for making use of for a card, in response to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
"People already have it set in their mind that cannabis is bad and they don't educate themselves," she mentioned. "But it's a great feeling to be able to see a chronic pain patient who hasn't wanted to get off the couch for months, be able to walk to get the mail themselves or walk around their house to do little things. It's about patient quality of life."
Tincknell mentioned she doesn’t consider that cannabis leads youngsters to need to strive tougher medicine. McGunn disagreed.
Regardless, Saloner mentioned better availability of any drug makes it extra probably minors would use it. Having cannabis in a cupboard poses the identical dangers as having opioids or alcohol simply accessible by youngsters.
While cannabis is likely to be a safer different to deal with persistent ache, extra analysis must be performed earlier than it's a frequently accepted apply within the medical discipline. At the very least, Saloner mentioned, it's noteworthy to keep in mind that whereas opioids can result in deadly overdoses, cannabis doesn't – and an increase in opioid-related overdose deaths is the general public well being epidemic that officers are presently attempting to fight.
Tom Owens mentioned he'll proceed offering for his 5 persistent ache sufferers, with hopes to at some point be capable of present for much more.
"Marijuana still has a bad rep," he mentioned. "I used to be a farmer — I farmed corn, soybeans, hay and alfalfa — so I like growing (cannabis), but mostly I just want to help people. There's not many places people can get cannabis close, they have to drive far. I just thought with a dispensary here, it would be easier for them."
Contact Nicole Hayden at (810) 989-6279 or nhayden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @nicoleandpig.
Marijuana: safer than opioids?
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