Lawful Access To Cannabis Helping Save Lives In Colorado

Cannabis has been legalized in Colorado for some time now and according to a new study, researchers say that it's helping to save lives in the state.

Many states right now are dealing with an opioid prescription crisis and thousands of people are losing their lives every year because of opioid addiction. Researchers say that having lawful access to cannabis in Colorado has helped to prompt a reversal of those opioid-related deaths.

They suspect that it has helped to decrease those deaths by around 5 percent or more within just a couple of years time.

Previous studies have found that an overwhelming number of patients would prefer to go with cannabis instead of opioid prescriptions or other medications. And it's been suggested that cannabis could play a major role in helping people to deal with their alcohol abuse and drug addiction.

It's estimated that roughly 93 percent of patients would prefer to use cannabis as a treatment method instead of opioids.

This could be because many people report seeing drastically fewer (if any at all) side effects when taking cannabis, as opposed to what they see when they take opioids. And when it comes to prescription medications like opioids, some research has suggested that in many cases it only makes symptoms of chronic pain much worse.

For roughly 1 in 4 individuals who end up receiving opioid prescriptions, it's estimated that they will end up struggling with addiction at some point in their life.

And withdrawal symptoms from opioid prescriptions are reported to be symptoms like: nausea, headaches, irritability, sweating, and worse. Researchers have suggested that cannabis could be detrimental in helping people to overcome their opioid and other drug addictions that are potentially much more harmful. In this sense, it could act then as the perfect exit gateway drug.

Researchers in Colorado say that they want to keep a close eye on the numbers, they want to know if this trend continues. They are also hoping to compare their results to other states, to see if they've had similar results. They say that more research on this topic is needed and for now these results are preliminary.

Pics:
Pixabay

The information that is posted above is not intended or implied to ever be used as any substitute for professional medical advice, or diagnosis or treatment. The above is posted for informational purposes only.

Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/16/legal-marijuana-is-saving-lives-in-colorado-study-finds/?utm_term=.0fae22c23ff1
@doitvoluntarily/5-big-pharma-companies-sued-over-their-contribution-to-opioid-crisis
http://www.newsweek.com/legalizing-cannabis-opioid-deaths-how-marijuana-saving-lives-colorado-686949

Lawful Access To Cannabis Helping Save Lives In Colorado

Cannabis has been legalized in Colorado for some time now and according to a new study, researchers say that it's helping to save lives in the state.

They suspect that it has helped to decrease those deaths by around 5 percent or more within just a couple of years time.

It's estimated that roughly 93 percent of patients would prefer to use cannabis as a treatment method instead of opioids.

For roughly 1 in 4 individuals who end up receiving opioid prescriptions, it's estimated that they will end up struggling with addiction at some point in their life.

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