IN STATES WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA, PAINKILLER DEATHS DROP BY 25

[Double Deuces]

I have been a proponent and user of mmj for a very long time. I find it to be very helpful with addiction/anxiety/insomnia/nausea and other ailments. Weediquette is a fantastic show (I'm addicted to VICELAND lol) and the last episode I saw explained some of the scientific/physiological reasons that mmj could be beneficial for fighting cancer. One little girl even shrunk her tumor by only using mmj concentrate (no chemo). Of course it's anecdotal evidence but it just shows the we need the funding to really fully research the numerous benefits of this potential life saver.

But as was said by Ice, this is all about Big Pharma and money. Just look at the increase in prescriptions for cholesterol medicines in the past decades (many of which have been shown to not even be effective and potentially harmful)...think practitioners might get some incentive to push these meds instead of recommending lifestyle changes first? I do. 

God forbid we can actually use a natural medicine that is basically free, can be made at home, and probably has much less side effects than the alternatives. It is yet another case of profits over people. And in my opinion that is a pathetic concept when it comes to a so called "health care system". /End Rant  

[Pineapplepen]

It would be much easier just to legalize and tax it, so anyone can use it that needs it.

I find alcohol a much worse drug than the MMJ.

Goodness forbid the stupid government let us make our own choices.

[tobaloke]

A jar of medical marijuana is displayed at the California Heritage Market in Los Angeles.

America has a major problem with prescription pain medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. Overdose deaths from these pharmaceutical opioids have approximately tripled since 1991, and every day 46 people die of such overdoses in the United States.

However, in the 13 states that passed laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana between 1999 and 2010, 25 percent fewer people die from opioid overdoses annually.

“The difference is quite striking,” said study co-author Colleen Barry, a health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

The shift showed up quite quickly and become visible the year after medical marijuana was accepted in each state, she told Newsweek.

The only problem still keeping Washington's opiate deathtoll up was the already massive presence of heroin use, especially in the young and inexperienced(ignorant) demographics. That hasn't seen much of a decrease especially now with the introduction of dealers cutting their smack with Fentanyl to make it yield exponentially. The kids in Seattle that are slamming anything they can into their veins, in combination much of the time, are underage, therefore don't even benefit from the MJ legalization. Pitiful, really. And don't get me started on the citys Methadone programs -- talk about trading one addiction for another!

[nickolyko]

If nost of people had the alternative to a goos dource of cratom and good weed we would see a 50% decrease in mortality. If doctors ever thought that the reason for this mass intoxications was that the system wants to push medical victims into a more controlled and harder to find their medicine system they would raise concerns and decide a radical change. 
Lose legislation simply mean's less drug seeking behaviour less people trying multiple sources and lower prices on medicines. But they dont want that of cource. The want their fee sky rocketing for just writing one refill, and they want more victims. That is  why they hunt IOPs and they try to cut any other resource for medicines. That is why in my country I cant find access to the medicines I should have. I am in pain and I am lucky if and when I can find my drugs out of this system of docctors and public insurance. We have the right to decide and this is the meaning of democracy.

[UncleSam]

yeah I can't emphasize enough how powerful the pain relieving effects of marijuana can be, especially CBD. I always have some CBD on hand because it works far better for me than advil but I've even heard it being useful in more severe pain situations

[ashylarry]

A jar of medical marijuana is displayed at the California Heritage Market in Los Angeles.

America has a major problem with prescription pain medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. Overdose deaths from these pharmaceutical opioids have approximately tripled since 1991, and every day 46 people die of such overdoses in the United States.

However, in the 13 states that passed laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana between 1999 and 2010, 25 percent fewer people die from opioid overdoses annually.

“The difference is quite striking,” said study co-author Colleen Barry, a health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

The shift showed up quite quickly and become visible the year after medical marijuana was accepted in each state, she told Newsweek.

The only problem still keeping Washington's opiate deathtoll up was the already massive presence of heroin use, especially in the young and inexperienced(ignorant) demographics. That hasn't seen much of a decrease especially now with the introduction of dealers cutting their smack with Fentanyl to make it yield exponentially. The kids in Seattle that are slamming anything they can into their veins, in combination much of the time, are underage, therefore don't even benefit from the MJ legalization. Pitiful, really. And don't get me started on the citys Methadone programs -- talk about trading one addiction for another!

The problem is the same in MA. Prior painkiller addicts have switched to elicit opioids (organic and synthetic). The increase in extremely strong Synthetic opioids found in these underground economies has sharply increased the overdose rate and MMJ has done nothing to touch it. You cant really expect it too.

MMJ is a better alternative for pain control than opioids but it must be implemented prior to opioids or at least prior to physical dependency occurring. MMJ has far less negative side effects for chronic pain control but once you allow a patients brain chemistry to be tainted by opioid dependency its too late for most. Something like 75% of long term opioid pain killer meds become addicted and that is a life long addiction. 

We can only hope that the next generation of doctors and patients seek these alternative methods so that they do not make this generations mistakes... one can only hope. 

Im sure big pharma will try and maintain control over this lucrative pain killer market so who knows what the future holds for the chronic pain community

Larry

[solarpunch]

Alot of GP doctors won't even give you any pain or anxiety medication if you smoke mj. It's really messed up. They say it's cause of the new guidelines we were blessed with back in March (saying that very sarcastically). Hopefully they will stop treating their patients like addicts. When all were trying to do is help aleveiate our ailments.

[esbayne]

I would say that all PM doctors are going to be against MM until it is make legal on a federal level. The DEA is the one that checks prescription records and a doctor dispensing narcotics has a DEA number assigned to them. At my PM doctor I have a urine test each and every time and they are very strict. If you even have alcohol in your system you have one foot out the door. This is just what i have seen in my experiences. I do agree that MM is a big help for many aliments and is safer than alcohol but until someone has the guts to approve it at a national level this is what we have to work with.

Thanks Eddie

[Charon]

It has to be approved on a federal level, yes, you are correct.

These little piss ant allowances the gvt is making in some states, in violation of state v. federal laws in our constitution, will not hold up if the federal gvt goes after one.

As is, in so called legal states, PM doctors don't allow MMJ in one's body, or the patient will be booted from the program.

NY was making MMJ legal for certain medical reasons. Our governor changed the law right before he signed it. But, even if one is diagnosed with one of the few ailments that one is allowed MMJ for, as of now, it costs 8000$ for three months of MMJ treatment. Medicaid won't pay and if one has disability, the gvt makes sure one has no monies or assets before it is given to them.

So, yes, the Federal gvt is in charge of this. Despite the fact our states are supposed to have rights to make certain decisions for themselves. And, should one be allowed on paper to receive MMJ for some diseases, one had better have a very wealthy aunt or such to pay for the exhorbitant treatment.

In this economy, I know very few whom can afford to pay for MMJ treatment, even if their state says its ok.

[Charon]

Esbayne: One more post and u have made it!! Well done. Congratulations, eddie.