Reducing Opioid Use in Seniors with Medical Marijuana
Medical cannabis is legal today in 28 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. As the United States of America continues to shift policy and perceptions about this important issue, one of the most encouraging aspects is how medical marijuana is reducing opioid use in seniors.
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Powerful Research Results
A study published in July 2016 in Health Affairs found that physicians wrote significantly fewer prescriptions for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved painkillers and other medications for nine different ailments in states with medical marijuana laws.
Senior author, W. David Bradford, from the University of Georgia in Athens [and colleagues] analyzed Medicare data from 2010 through 2013 and found that the use of FDA-approved medicines for anxiety, depression, nausea, seizures, sleep disorders, and spasticity all declined significantly. But the biggest drop was seen in patients’ demand for pain relief medications. The annual number of daily doses prescribed per physician fell by more than 11 percent, or 1,800 per day. Bradford suggests that reducing opioid use in seniors with medical marijuana is possible given this recent development.
“THE RESULTS SHOW THAT MARIJUANA MIGHT BE BENEFICIAL WITH DIVERTING PEOPLE AWAY FROM OPIOIDS,” BRADFORD SAID.
The efficacy of medical cannabis in treating these conditions and lowering the use of prescription drugs is further fortified by the fact that “prescriptions didn’t drop for medicines such as blood-thinners, for which marijuana isn’t a substitute.”
A University of Michigan study published in 2016 looked at 185 patients from a medical marijuana dispensary in Ann Arbor who controlled chronic pain with medical marijuana.
- The participants reported a 64 percent reduction in their use of opioids.
- They reported fewer side effects from their medications.
- They experienced a 45 percent improvement in quality of life since using cannabis to manage pain.
A comprehensive report released early this year by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine based on the review of over 10,000 scientific abstracts from marijuana health research showed, “there is conclusive or substantial evidence that cannabis or cannabinoids are effective for the treatment for chronic pain in adults.” Finally, research is backing a natural pain-relieving solution for reducing opioid use in seniors with medical marijuana.
A Solution to the Opioid Epidemic
The encouraging studies that demonstrate cannabis is a viable substitute to opioid painkillers come at a time when national health leaders are asking the healthcare community to reduce prescriptions for pain relief medications such as Vicodin and OxyContin. Reducing opioid use in seniors with medical marijuana would surely save lives.
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that prescriptions for opioids have quadrupled since 1999.
- Nearly two million Americans either abused or were dependent on prescription opioids in 2014, according to the CDC.
- 40 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.
- About 60 percent of opioid overdoses occur in people with legitimate prescriptions for pain pills.
- A 2014 study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine found that states with any kind of medical marijuana law had a 25 percent lower rate of death from opioid overdoses than other states.
- A 2015 study showed that medical marijuana dispensaries were associated with a 16 to 31 percent decrease in opioid overdose deaths compared to states without dispensaries. The decline was especially noticeable among men and seemed to be associated with lower rates of illegal opioid use.
Read more about why senior citizens commonly
use medical marijuana for chronic pain.
Our Focus at Grant Pharms MMC is Providing You with Quality, Compassion, and Understanding
Our experienced and highly skilled team is passionate about helping you find the right medicine to help you live your best life. At Grant Pharms Medical Marijuana Center, it’s about providing relief through clean, quality medicinal cannabis and developing a new understanding of how to care for our bodies without the use of harsh chemicals. We offer support for our older patients and believe that medical marijuana is reducing opioid use in seniors. Come into our medical marijuana dispensary, so we can help you today!
Grant Pharms MMC: 320 Prairie Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80909
Grant Pharms II: 1591 E Cheyenne Mountain Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80906
Additional Reading
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-medicalpot-elderly-idUSKCN0ZM2C9
- https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1661
- https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/14/medical-marijuana-opioid/
- https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/07/06/484977159/after-medical-marijuana-legalized-medicare-prescriptions-drop-for-many-drugs
- https://news.umich.edu/medical-marijuana-reduces-use-of-opioid-pain-meds-decreases-risk-for-some-with-chronic-pain/
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