Cannabis as a Replacement for Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drugs
- Canadian Patients Prefer Medical Cannabis Over Other Medications, New Studies Show
- Most Respondents Reduced Opiate Intake Like Vicodin or Morphine Thanks to Cannabis
- Surprisingly, Respondents Replaced Addictive Substances Like Alcohol and Especially Tobacco with Cannabis
Patients Choose Medical Cannabis
Here we have another study that again demonstrates patients much prefer medical cannabis as a helper in fighting their health problems instead of pharmaceutical drugs.
In our previous article "Cannabis Against Chronic Pain" we mentioned a study where cannabis proved to be a popular alternative for pain medication for people suffering from various chronic pain types. In this study, published in the "Journal of Pain", scientists asked 244 patients how much cannabis helps them with pain. The results showed that these patients better manage treatment side effects and overall improved their quality of life. Other studies confirmed similar results.
Now, in the current study from Canada, we observe more promising results indicating the potential of medical cannabis as a helper against alcohol, tobacco, and other drug dependencies. This result further strengthens speculations that cannabis could be useful as a harm-reduction tool for potentially dangerous medications and drugs. These findings were published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.
In this specific study, researchers Philipe Lucas and Zach Walsh analyzed data collected from 107 respondents who received medical cannabis from Tilray, a legally recognized cannabis producer by the US federal government.
The main purpose of the study was to determine if patients replace other pharmaceutical medications with cannabis. Lucas and Zach ultimately found that 63% of respondents indeed use cannabis as a replacement for pharmaceutical medications, with 30% of them replacing opiates with "marijuana". The next two most commonly replaced medications were benzodiazepines and antidepressants. Despite certain cannabis strains being associated with anxiety and uncertainty or paranoia, 12% of respondents successfully replaced antidepressants with cannabis.
Medical Cannabis as a Replacement for Tobacco and Alcohol
However, pharmaceutical medications were not the only substances patients replaced with cannabis - 12% of them reported successfully replacing tobacco with cannabis. For some, this result might seem like "out of the frying pan into the fire", but studies point to the following crucial difference between cannabis and tobacco smoking: "80 to 90% of lung cancer cases are caused by tobacco smoking, while no correlation has been found between moderate cannabis smoking and lung cancer". (More in the article "Does Cannabis Harm Your Lungs?")
Another common replacement was alcohol - 25% of participants reported regularly replacing alcohol with cannabis. 3% of respondents replaced other illegal drugs with cannabis.
However, patients' access to quality cannabis remains problematic - 42% of respondents admitted that in addition to legally purchased cannabis, they had to "supplement" by buying from illegal dealers. This number shows that while the situation in Canada is better, it is still similar to our own - cannabis is overpriced, and insurance does not cover this treatment, so patients are forced to seek sources on the black market or simply grow their own cannabis.
Author: Delilah Butterfield
Translation: Filip Maral
Source: herb.co
Images: resize.rbl.ms thesmokersclub