In the United States, there is a growing public health issue over chronic pain. The CDC reports that one in five Americans suffers from chronic pain, which is thought to cost $560 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity. The complex condition of chronic pain causes the body to experience physical, psychological, and emotional stress. As a result, managing chronic pain also calls for a multi-modal strategy that incorporates both non-pharmacological, and pharmaceutical techniques. Cannabis for medical purposes has gained popularity as a potential treatment for chronic pain in light of the current opioid epidemic. In states with medicinal cannabis regulations, 3 out of 10 adults with chronic pain reported using cannabis to treat their symptoms. The majority of people who used cannabis as a treatment for chronic pain reported switching from other painkillers, including prescription opioids, to cannabis.
Numerous studies on the efficiency of medicinal cannabis in treating chronic pain have been conducted over a long period of time. One such study examined the opinions of people with chronic pain towards medical marijuana. The 984 individuals with chronic pain included in the study had neuropathic pain, back pain, arthritis, post-surgical pain, headaches, and stomach pain, among other types of pain. Two-thirds of the participants in this study indicated that the primary advantage of marijuana use was pain alleviation. The second most frequently mentioned benefit was better sleep.
A 64% decrease in opiate use was also observed among chronic pain patients who used medical marijuana, according to another study. These patients’ quality of life increased and their adverse effects decreased. Cannabis medicine has gained importance as a potential alternative therapy because of the ongoing opiate epidemic. Cannabis does not produce respiratory depression, unlike opioids, which results in lower fatality rates. A study examining how marijuana stores affect the frequency of opioid-related bad outcomes found a 17% decrease in mortality.[13] Dispensaries also had a comparable impact on admissions to treatment facilities associated to opioid use, demonstrating the substitutability of medical marijuana.
The treatment of chronic pain may often require a multifaceted approach. As with any patient encounter, a thorough history and physical exam are essential when delineating appropriate treatment options for chronic pain patients. The complexity of treating chronic pain patients is attributable to the subjective nature of pain, and the variability of pain tolerance amongst patients.
Recent Comments