Prescription Pills: 3 Benefits of Medical Marijuana
Prescription Pills: Is Medical Marijuana Better?
Prescription pills are a growing problem in the United States. This is leading many to choose medical marijuana over prescription pills. There are several benefits to using medical marijuana as a treatment option over prescription painkillers or opioids. Opioids, sometimes referred to as narcotics, are a class of drugs prescribed by doctors to reduce pain. Unfortunately, they can have serious risks and side effects.
Using opioids for pain reduction does not come without risks. In addition to reducing pain, opioids help make people feel relaxed, happy, high, and can be addictive. Although medical cannabis can also produce euphoria or high feeling, it is nonaddictive. There is no evidence that patients who use medical marijuana need to constantly up their dosage due to developing a tolerance to it, unlike opioids. With the number of people addicted to painkillers increasing year after year, it seems medical marijuana could provide a valuable alternative.
Prescription Pill Side Effects
The number of opioid overdoses has increased in recent years across the world. The United States has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people dying from opioid overdose in the last decade. The World Health Organization states that the COVID-19 pandemic created a substantial increase in prescription pill overdoses. The increasing opioid epidemic awareness has many looking for safer alternative treatment options.
Benefits of choosing Medical Marijuana
Prescription pills include a list of side effects, which include death from overdose and addiction. These known side effects are leading many to choose medical marijuana over prescription pills to treat their pain.
1. Cognitive Issues
Many opioids come with a warning to not drive or operate heavy machinery while on opioids. They also cause people to not feel themselves while taking prescriptions and can cause drowsiness, trouble staying focused, slow reflexes, and a foggy feeling or trouble thinking clearly. Medical cannabis has been shown to reduce pain while improving mental health and function. It also helps repair brain damage and improve neurological function.
2. Opioid Tolerance and Addiction
Opioids create a tolerance, where people find they need more and more of the prescription to achieve the same effect in easing pain. It can also cause a compulsive use of the drug or addiction. Using opioids for an extended time can create dependence. If the prescription is stopped it can cause withdrawal symptoms like muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anxiety, and irritability. The CDC reports that nearly 841,000 people have died since 1999 from a drug overdose.
3. Gastrointestinal Problems
Nausea and vomiting are common side effects when people start taking prescription pills. Another common problem includes constipation. The cannabinoids in medical cannabis have been shown to help with gastrointestinal issues and have anti-inflammatory effects.
Trying Medical Marijuana
Pain medication should improve people’s quality of life. The benefits of choosing medical marijuana over prescription pills are easy to see. Medical marijuana is effective at relieving pain and comes with less dangerous side effects than opioids.
Medical Marijuana for PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is common and can occur to anyone who has witnessed or experienced a traumatic event. A study found that patients with a current diagnosis of PTSD were significantly more likely to have used prescription opioids for pain control than those without the diagnosis. The association found between PTSD and substance abuse should be considered when deciding on treatment. This is leading many to choose medical marijuana over prescription pills.
Get a PTSD Diagnosis
Many states include PTSD as a qualifying condition to get medical marijuana. Our medical professionals at Elite Evaluations can provide a PTSD diagnosis. Get started by completing this PTSD self questionnaire.
