In a new study, researchers found cannabis could be an effective treatment option for both pain relief and insomnia.
It is good news for people who want to avoid prescription and over the counter pain and sleep medications—including opioids.
The research was conducted by a team from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Approximately 20% of American adults suffer from chronic pain, and one in three adults do not get enough sleep.
Traditional over the counter medications and painkillers can help, however, they may have serious side effects.
People develop tolerance to opioids, which means that they require higher doses to achieve the same effect.
Chronic pain patients often increase their dose of opioid medications over time, which in turn increases their risk of overdose
But opioids can depress the respiratory system, and overdoses may be fatal.
Similarly, sleeping pills can lead to dependence, and may cause grogginess the next day, interfering with people’s work and social lives.
In the study, the team looked at 1,000 people taking legalized marijuana in an American state.
They found that among the 65% of people taking cannabis for pain, 80% found it was very or extremely helpful.
This led to 82% of these people being able to reduce or stop taking over the counter pain medications, and 88% being able to stop taking opioid painkillers.
In addition, about 74% of the 1,000 interviewees bought it to help them sleep.
Among them, 84% said the marijuana had helped them, and over 83% said that they had since reduced or stopped taking over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids.
The findings suggest that cannabis could lower opioid use.
They support the theory that widening access to medical cannabis could lower the use of prescription painkillers and allow more people to manage and treat their pain without relying on opioid prescription drugs that have dangerous side effects.
However, the researchers warn that future work needs to be done to understand the potential health benefits of cannabis.
One author of the study is Dr. Gwen Wurm, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics.
The study is published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.
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