More good news for advocates of legalized marijuana use in the United States as new studies have suggested more evidence of the benefits of cannabis. While we've seen links between improved conditions for those suffering ailments such as glaucoma and some cancers and cannabis use, new research also points to the plant as a viable solution to the ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States.
In new data released by the Minnesota Department of Health, numbers indicate that 63 percent of patients surveyed in a study were able to reduce or eliminate opioid usage after six months of being registered with the states medical cannabis program. But this is hardly the first time that such findings have been presented. Back in 2016, the state of Michigan reported similar findings, revealing that a 64 percent decrease in opioid usage was closely associated with marijuana treatment.
Overseas, more definitive research has supported this as well as such research is easier to conduct in nations where the substance is legalized. A recent study published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine showed that researchers from Israel’s largest medical marijuana provider found that cannabis could help “stop opioid dependency before it starts.”
"Cannabis is a very good alternative to reduce opioid consumption, to increase quality of life, and to reduce pain, nausea and vomiting," Lihi Bar-Lev Schleider, lead researcher on the study, told Rolling Stone magazine. Similar to other findings, a time frame of six months was all it took to reduce patients’ use and abuse of opioid painkillers.
