Could medical cannabis break the painkiller epidemic?
A body of research suggests yes, but scientists are having to fight red tape to study whether medical marijuana could substitute for opioid drugs
Scientific American (US)
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Thursday, September 1, 2016
The U.S. “is in the midst of an unprecedented opioid epidemic,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Prescription opioid overdoses killed more than 165,000 Americans between 1999 and 2014, and the health and social costs of abusing such drugs are estimated to be as much as $55 billion a year. The problem has led experts to scramble for a less dangerous alternative for pain relief—and some research points to medical marijuana. Animal studies have shown that cannabinoid chemical compounds found in marijuana can work synergistically with opioids to mitigate pain.
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