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Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
<br /> Volume 2.1,2017 Cannabis and
<br /> DOI: 10.1089/can.2017.0012 Cannabinoid Research
<br /> M 1.,..zkC114, (4,G.A 4444414
<br /> ORIGINAL RESEARCH Open Access
<br /> Cannabis as a Substitute for Opioid-Based Pain Medication:
<br /> Patient Self-Report
<br /> Amanda Reiman,'* Mark Welty,2 and Perry Solomon3
<br /> Abstract
<br /> Introduction: Prescription drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States.Alter-
<br /> natives to opioids for the treatment of pain are necessary to address this issue.Cannabis can be an effective treat-
<br /> ment for pain,greatly reduces the chance of dependence,and eliminates the risk of fatal overdose compared to
<br /> opioid-based medications. Medical cannabis patients report that cannabis is just as effective, if not more,than
<br /> opioid-based medications for pain.
<br /> Materials and Methods:The current study examined the use of cannabis as a substitute for opioid-based pain
<br /> medication by collecting survey data from 2897 medical cannabis patients.
<br /> Discussion: Thirty-four percent of the sample reported using opioid-based pain medication in the past 6
<br /> months. Respondents overwhelmingly reported that cannabis provided relief on par with their other medica-
<br /> tions, but without the unwanted side effects. Ninety-seven percent of the sample "strongly agreed/agreed"
<br /> that they are able to decrease the amount of opiates they consume when they also use cannabis, and 81%
<br /> "strongly agreed/agreed"that taking cannabis by itself was more effective at treating their condition than taking
<br /> cannabis with opioids. Results were similar for those using cannabis with nonopioid-based pain medications.
<br /> Conclusion:Future research should track clinical outcomes where cannabis is offered as a viable substitute for pain
<br /> treatment and examine the outcomes of using cannabis as a medication assisted treatment for opioid dependence.
<br /> Keywords:opiates; pain; harm reduction;substitution;opioids;cannabis
<br /> Introduction 1999."1 Interestingly, Bachhuber et al. found that states
<br /> The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Preven- with medical cannabis laws had significantly lower state-
<br /> tion report that "[o]pioids (including prescription level opioid overdose mortality rates.2 Similarly,Bradford
<br /> opioid pain relievers and heroin) killed more than and Bradford evaluated data on all prescriptions filled by
<br /> 28,000 people in 2014,more than any year on record." Medicare Part D patients from 2010 to 2013 and found
<br /> Unfortunately,this statistic has done little to curb the that the use of prescription drugs for which cannabis
<br /> prescribing and consumption patterns for prescription could serve as a clinical alternative fell significantly, once
<br /> opioids.The CDC estimates that,"since 1999,the amount a state medical cannabis law was implemented. They
<br /> of prescription opioids sold in the United States nearly found that implementing an effective medical cannabis
<br /> quadrupled, yet there has not been an overall change in law led to a reduction of 1826 daily doses for opioid
<br /> the amount of pain that Americans report. Deaths from pain relief filled per physician per year.3
<br /> prescription opioids—drugs like oxycodone, hydroco- Patients who suffer with pain continue to use opioids
<br /> done, and methadone—have also quadrupled since for chronic pain conditions despite their limited long-
<br /> 'School of Social Welfare,University of California,Berkeley,Berkeley,California.
<br /> 'School of Lifespan Development and Educational Services,Kent State University,Kent,Ohio.
<br /> 3Chief Medical Officer,HelloMD,San Francisco,California.
<br /> *Address correspondence to:Amanda Reiman,PhD,MSW,School of Social Welfare,University of California,Berkeley, 120 Haviland Hall,Berkeley,CA 94720,E-mail:
<br /> areiman@berkeley.edu
<br /> ©Amanda Reiman et al.2017;Published by Mary Ann Liebert,Inc.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
<br /> Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use,distribution,and reproduction in any medium,provided the original work is properly cited.
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