Codeine, OxyContin, Hydrocodone, etc… They are some of the most prescribed drugs in America. And for one reason, these opioids are the most powerful weapon to treat chronic pain. But now some doctors are prescribing another drug. – Pot!
Chronic pain in the US is a big problem and the abuse of prescription opioid drugs that heal that pain has become epidemic.
Here are the hard facts:
- Over 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.
- More than 250 million prescriptions are written for opioid drugs to treat chronic pain, every year.
- And about 12 million abuse those prescriptions of painkillers, with nearly 50 dying every day from overdosing.
How Marijuana May Relieve Chronic Pain
Marijuana could be a safer alternative to painkillers. Research shows states where legal medical marijuana have nearly 25% fewer prescription pill overdoses, which has led to 1700 fewer deaths so far.
Today it is believed that trading opioids for pot could be the future of chronic pain banishment. So, what makes medical marijuana a potent tool in treating pain? Let me show you how these two drugs work differently in your body.
The active ingredient in pain pills like Vicodin, OxyContin, and Hydrocodone (or like some would call them opioids), when you have back pain you feel you’re gonna get that ache, you take one of these pills and it goes down into your stomach and it is rapidly broken down and absorbed through the bloodstream, goes up to the brain and affects a very specific area of the brain, so it dulls your responsiveness to pain coming from, in this case, from your lower back.
Now, sometimes you gotta take extra pills because your body tends to be resistant to these opioids over time, which of course creates somebody’s addiction problem. But eventually, you get the pain relief.
Now, let’s turn to marijuana. Kris Carr gives you a euphoric feeling, but instead of going to your stomach, it goes to your lungs, where it’s very quickly pulled into your bloodstream and travels to the brain to the same spot.
Many of the same spots that are affected by opioids are also affected by THC and that discomfort from the back in a similar olfaction the body seems to be not so affected by it. So for that reason, it seems to give the same type of relief from chronic pain.