It’s a system which for many reasons – not all of them purely medical – often leads to opioid use problems (and other overprescription problems), whereas medical cannabis can help address or supplement addressing many of the same issues with far less risk.
Aside from the point that medical cannabis is proving useful in helping reduce opioid use, we note that patients and others commenting on the article took issue with the author’s analysis. The article itself noted that the way the current diagnosis of “opioid use disorder” is classified doesn’t distinguish between people on prescriptions for longer than 90 days (e.g., for diseases characterized by chronic pain) and people previously classified as addicted whether or not they suffer from a chronic pain producing condition.
It follows that only a subset of individuals would fit into some of the data points noted, e.g., an increased association between the disorder and alcoholism/binge drinking, mental health issues, etc.
So there are issues of stigmatization of patients, overgeneralization and other matters that require other intelligent reform in addition to the benefits medical cannabis can bring.
TRUCE’s approach is, while focusing on supported conclusions, to also avoid oversimplifying complex matters, and we would never claim there’s any one one-step cure all approach to the entire matter of opioids in society.
So for those interested in the opioid issue in general we would advise you to consider all the information mentioned here, and to also look at the work being done by the Utah Harm Reduction Coalition in this area – where these issues are their bread and butter.
#MMJ #Opioids #HarmReduction #UTpol #GetSerious #TRUCE
http://ift.tt/2t9EeQz
See full article – Opioid Addiction Linked to Range of Health Problems
