Is Medical Marijuana Linked to Fewer Pain Killer Related Deaths?

Pain killer related overdoses are on the rise, but a recent study published by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that the states that have legalized medical marijuana may experience fewer opiate-related deaths. When individuals with chronic pain have medical marijuana as an option for relieving their pain, they tend to rely on that more than the use of prescription pain killers. The author of the study, Dr. Marcus Bachhuber explains, “We think people with chronic pain may be choosing to treat their pain with marijuana rather than with prescription pain killers, in states where this is legal.”

The study collected data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from each state from 1999 to 2010, studying the prescription painkiller overdose rate versus whether the state had passed a medical marijuana law. The study concluded that in states where medical marijuana is legal, there are approximately 25 percent less death caused by painkiller overdose.

 Dr. Bachhuber is a doctor at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center who works with many people with chronic pain. He explains, “sometimes, people with chronic pain would say only marijuana worked, or they tried marijuana as painkiller and found it worked better than prescription pills.”

The study also explains, “in summary, although we found a lower mean annual rate of opioid analgesic mortality in states with medical cannabis laws; a direct causal link cannot be established. If the relationship between medical cannabis laws and opioid analgesic overdose mortality is substantiated in further work, enactment of laws to allow for use of medical cannabis may be advocated as part of a comprehensive package of policies to reduce the population risk of opioid analgesics.”

American has a significant problem with prescription pain medication. As explained in Newsweek, deaths from prescriptions like Vicodin and OxyContin have almost tripled since 1991, and every day, there are 46 pain killer overdose-related deaths in the United States. Marijuana is much less toxic than using opioids, and it’s impossible for anyone to die from overdosing on marijuana.

Not everyone agrees that the medical marijuana is linked to the fewer painkiller related deaths though. Chief medical officer at Phoenix House, a national nonprofit addiction treatment agency, Dr. Andrew Kolodny states, “You don’t have primary care doctors in these states prescribing marijuana instead of Vicodin.”

Cigarettes Versus Medical Cannabis

Even though the FDA does not approve medical cannabis, studies have shown over the years that smoking the medicine poses less of a threat to the public than smoking cigarettes. As explained Liberty Voice, “Cigarettes contain 40,000 chemicals, 43 of the additive chemicals are proven to cause cancer, they are carcinogenic.” In just one cigarette formaldehyde, tar, and the addictive nicotine can be found.When you look at the additives in marijuana, you’ll find THC, cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids. Any adverse chemicals making up marijuana have not been discovered at this time.

It was once believed “one joint is equal to ten cigarettes,” but this belief has been proven to be far from the truth. Smoking any plant is harmful to your lungs because it causes lesions in your small airways. Usually, this doesn’t lead to problems that will threaten your life though, but it can lead to infections. Donald Tashkin, pulmonary researcher conducted a study where him and colleagues at UCLA measured lung functions in various individuals in tobacco smokers, marijuana smokers, and non-smokers. Tashkin explained the findings, “The more tobacco smoked, the greater the rate of decline. In contrast, no matter how much marijuana was smoked, the rate of decline was similar to normal.”

Unlike cigarettes, marijuana has gained the status across the United States for its ability to treat numerous conditions. It’s been proven beneficial in treating glaucoma, boosting the immune system, reducing seizures from epilepsy, hinder cancer cells, and easing pain. Any individuals concerned about any harmful effects caused by smoking marijuana can worry a lot less with these findings. If you still find yourself concerned about lighting up, and you would like to play it safe, there are a number of ways you can use your medical marijuana such as vaporizing and oils.

California Drought Affecting Medical Marijuana Industry

By now, most people have heard about the significant drought affecting California, affecting approximately 60 percent of the state. This historic drought is the worst ever California experienced. Droughts are terrible for many reasons, and they significantly affect the agriculture industry. Among the industries affected by the current drought are medical marijuana farmers.

Medical marijuana grower, Swami Chaitanya discusses the impact the drought has, “Virtually every grower I’ve talked to this year has said, ‘Ok I can’t just grow as many, I’m going to grow fewer’ because you want to make sure you have water for those you do have.” Many medical marijuana farmers are using environmentally-friendly ways to grow their crops such as using unique irrigation systems to use less water. State officials explain that when people grow pot illegally in areas like Lake County, it’s possibly making the drought even worse by tapping into water sources illegally.

During the drought, California citizens are subject to strict water restrictions. On July 29, 2014, emergency management for water conservation went into effect. “The new conservation regulation targets outdoor urban water use. In some areas of the state, 50 percent or more of daily water use is for lawns and outdoor landscaping. This rule establishes the minimum level of activity that residents, businesses, and water suppliers must meet as the drought deepens and will be in effect for 270 days unless extended or repealed.”

An article by The New York Times explains how hundreds of illegal marijuana operations are diverting water for thousands of plants and putting chemicals into the water sources. People like these illegal growers are giving legit medical marijuana growers a bad reputation. “In July, Lake County enacted an ordinance that demanded that producers account for their water supply; as in Mendocino, the county that also has a tip line to stop violators.” Principal planner for Lake County, Kevin Ingram explain, “It’s very pointedly meant to stop a lot of what we’re seeing – the illegal diversions, damming up of creeks, tapping into springs that may be on someone else’s property.”