Evidence is mounting to suggest that cannabis really can provide a viable alternative to opioids, and can be used as a tool to fight the ongoing addiction crisis these drugs have caused in North America.
Opioids refer to a group of substances including morphine, fentanyl and codeine, which are frequently prescribed for pain relief but are also highly addictive and dependency forming.
In 2019 alone there were 49 860 opiate overdose deaths in the United States. Opioids directly affect the part of the brain that regulates breathing, and an overdose can result in the onset of a coma and/or death.
But, as the world is increasingly becoming aware of, cannabis also has powerful pain-relieving properties. And now that access to it is becoming easier, people are seemingly turning to the plant to soothe them instead.
One recent study in Canada looked at the volume of opioid prescriptions before and after cannabis legalisation. Their findings showed that cannabis legalisation in the country was definitively linked to a subsequent and significant decline in opioid prescriptions.
Another study in America showed that there was also a link between decreased opiate deaths and increased access to cannabis through the establishment of dispensaries across the country.
Researchers noted a 17% decline in opiate deaths in areas that had at least one dispensary, while additional dispensaries in any given areas correlated with an even higher death rate reduction.
Just further encouragement that cannabis is showing us the way forward to a future of naturally achieved mental and physical health.
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