By Traci Pedersen, PsychCentral, July 6, 2019.
A new study finds that a large number of adults who buy legalized cannabis have been able to cut back or completely quit taking their pain and/or sleepprescription drugs.
The findings, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, add weight to the theory that widening access to medical cannabis could reduce the use of prescription painkillers, allowing more people to manage and treat their pain without relying on opioid prescription drugs.
For the study, the researchers surveyed 1,000 people who purchased cannabis from two Colorado retail stores: 65% of the participants reported buying cannabis for pain and 74% for insomnia.
Among those taking cannabis for pain, 80% found it to be very or extremely helpful. In addition, this led to 82% of these individuals being able to reduce or stop taking over the counter pain medications, and 88% were able to stop taking opioid painkillers.
Among those taking cannabis for insomnia, 84% said it was a helpful sleep aid, and more than 83% of these said they had been able to reduce or stop taking over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids.
“Approximately 20% of American adults suffer from chronic pain, and one in three adults do not get enough sleep,” said Dr. Gwen Wurm, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Traditional over the counter medications and painkillers can help, but they often have serious side effects. For example, opioids depress the respiratory system which can be fatal in large doses.
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