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edical marijuana could help solve the opioid epidemic,Dr. Sanjay G... https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/24/health/medical-marijuana-opioid-ep. <br /> Health + Live TV U.S. Edition + <br /> Furthermore, opioids target the breathing centers in the brain, putting their users at real risk of dying from <br /> overdose. In stark contrast, with cannabis, there is virtually no risk of overdose or sudden death. Even more <br /> remarkable, cannabis treats pain in a way opioids cannot. Though both drugs target receptors that interfere <br /> with pain signals to the brain, cannabis does something more: It targets another receptor that decreases <br /> inflammation -- and does it fast. <br /> I have seen this firsthand. All over the country, I have <br /> , , irassiv_ 19 <br /> met patients who have weaned themselves off opioids <br /> ---- ', 4 . „ using cannabis. Ten years ago, attorney Marc <br /> �� ` t` 1 Schechter developed a sudden painful condition <br /> * "' _ . W <br /> � known as transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the <br /> ' • V - ' .o spinal cord. After visiting doctors in several states, he <br /> • was prescribed opioids and, according to our <br /> 4�• _ • o calculations, consumed approximately 40,000 pills <br /> ` w over the next decade. Despite that, his pain scores <br /> ': remained an eight out of 10. He also suffered <br /> significant side effects from the pain medication, <br /> including nausea, lethargy and depression. <br /> Related Article: Marijuana legalization <br /> Desperate and out of options, Schechter saw Dr. Mark <br /> could help offset opioid epidemic, studies Wallace, head of University of California, San Diego <br /> find Health's Center for Pain Medicine, where he was <br /> recommended cannabis. Minutes after he took it for <br /> the first time, Schechter's pain was reduced to a score <br /> of two out of 10, with hardly any side effects. One dose of cannabis had provided relief that 40,000 pills over <br /> 10 years could not. <br /> Using marijuana to get off opioids <br /> For Schechter, as with so many others, the seemingly insurmountable barrier to ending his opioid use was <br /> the terrible withdrawal symptoms he suffered each time he tried. When a patient stops opioids, their pain is <br /> often magnified, accompanied by rapid heart rate, persistent nausea and vomiting, excessive sweating, <br /> anorexia and terrible anxiety. <br /> Here again, cannabis is proven to offer relief. As many know, there is longstanding evidence that cannabis <br /> helps chemotherapy-induced symptoms in cancer patients, and those symptoms are very similar to opioid <br /> withdrawal. In fact, for some patients, cannabis is the only agent that subdues nausea while increasing <br /> appetite. <br /> Why we can 't 'just say no' to opioids <br /> Finally, when someone is addicted to opioids, they are often described as having a brain disease.Yasmin <br /> Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai in New York City, showed me what this looks like in <br /> 5 5/1/2018, 12:49 PM <br />