Most Important Marijuana Studies of 2017 (Part 2)

  • In the first part of the summary of the most significant cannabis studies of 2017, we focused primarily on research involving the cannabinoid CBD
  • In today's article, we'll look at studies discussing marijuana from a more comprehensive perspective
  • Medicinal cannabis is, among other things, capable of maintaining body vitality during aging or fighting neurodegenerative diseases and addictions

1. Cannabis Against Opiate Addiction

Source: International Journal of Drug Policy, April 2017; PLoS One, November 2017

Addictions of various degrees to opiates of all kinds are a global problem. Moreover, it seems that the number of addicts is increasing year by year, along with the number of overdose-related deaths. For example, in America, where this problem is most acute, opiate addiction was declared a "national emergency". President Trump proposed several solutions, but unfortunately did not include medical cannabis in his strategy – which, according to the latest 2017 research, he definitely should have.

Cannabis Eliminates Addiction

Several state studies found that in states where medical cannabis is commonly available, annual opiate overdoses significantly decreased. However, these studies did not include research on whether cannabis helps with pain better and more effectively than opiates.

"84% of patients who received medical cannabis on prescription to supplement their therapeutic plan showed a reduction in pain medication intake – opiates."

Fortunately, several very beneficial studies were conducted on this sensitive topic during 2017. One of them focused on 217 Canadian patients actively seeking a prescription for an effective medication for multiple problems: pain, anxiety, and depression. The study observed that 63% of these patients were able to replace their original pharmaceutical drugs with medical cannabis.

Cannabis was most successful among patients treating chronic pain, where 30% directly replaced their original medications with cannabis. Interestingly, the main reason for the vast majority of those who switched to cannabis was not that it helps with pain better than opiates. The main reason for these patients was concerns about the adverse and very dangerous side effects of opiates.

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