The management of chronic pain constitutes one of the greatest challenges of modern medicine. Diseases that cause sustained pain, from osteoarthritis to chronic neuropathic or low back pain, affect the quality of life of millions of people and, for decades, have placed opioids, a class of powerful analgesics but with an enormous social and health cost due to their high potential for dependence and overdose, at the center of pharmacological treatments.
A recent study published in the Disability and Health Journal reinforces the accumulated evidence that the use of medicinal cannabis is common among people with disabilities and, above all, it is used as a therapeutic tool to relieve pain, in addition to improving other associated symptoms such as tension and sleep disturbances. Here’s a key fact: more than 70% of respondents reported that cannabis primarily helps them manage pain.
Furthermore, this pattern of use reflects a real demand for therapeutic alternatives when conventional treatments are insufficient or generate significant adverse effects.
Beyond prevalence in people with painful conditions, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that medical cannabis may play a substantive role in reducing opioid use. For example, analyzes of large cohorts show that in US states with medical cannabis laws, opioid prescriptions decreased statistically significantly; one study found up to a 19.7% reduction in daily doses of opioids prescribed by orthopedic surgeons on Medicare, with significant declines especially for drugs like hydrocodone.
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In another prospective analysis of more than a thousand patients enrolled in medical cannabis clinics in Canada, the percentage of opioid users fell from 28% to 11% after six months of cannabis use, with an average reduction of 78% in the equivalent daily dose of morphine.
These data not only highlight the potential of cannabis as a substitute for opioids in the management of chronic pain, but also suggest significant improvements in the quality of life of patients who have managed to reduce or eliminate their dependence on traditional analgesics.
The scientific literature also documents that among those who use medicinal cannabis, a relevant proportion report having reduced their consumption of opioids or other medications with more severe side effects. Studies with surveyed patients have found that more than half of users perceive a reduction in their need for opioid medications after adopting cannabis into their treatment regimens.
This phenomenon has been described as the “substitution effect”: when an effective therapeutic alternative, such as cannabis, is offered, patients and prescribers may opt for it instead of relying on opioids, which is especially relevant in the context of the global crisis of addiction to opioid analgesics.
Complementing these findings, a recent article reports that approximately 26% of people with chronic pain in the United States manage their pain with medical cannabis, and more than half of those users stated that cannabis allowed them to reduce or abandon the use of opioids or other traditional pain relievers.
These figures, when integrated with the study that recently documented the prevalence of cannabis use among people with disabilities and its analgesic benefit, form a picture that cannot be ignored by politicians, clinicians and regulators. Enabling safe, regulated and scientifically informed access to medicinal cannabis has not only economic and social implications, but a tangible public health dimension: less dependence on opioids, fewer adverse effects related to these drugs and, ultimately, a better quality of life for those suffering from chronic pain.
The evidence points to a clear conclusion: medicinal cannabis is much more than a marginal alternative; is a legitimate therapeutic option that can redefine how we treat pain and reduce our dependence on medications with known risks and devastating consequences.
About the author:
Twitter: @anicannmx
http://www.anicann.org/
The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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