Have you had a backache for longer than six months? Do sharp pangs of shooting pain in your spine make it difficult for you to get around the house? Chronic pain is a nightmare that can make your life miserable. It affects 30% of the population in US; that’s 100 million adults!
US News ranked chronic pain conditions among the top 10 most painful medical conditions that people experience! Statistics also show that more people are affected by chronic pain than cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer.
Chronic pain is not only physically debilitating, but also financially taxing. The pain can dampen your productivity at work, affect your ability to learn at school, and lead to pay cuts due to excessive absenteeism. On average, people in the US spend $550–625 billion per year to deal with chronic pain.
Even though opioids have long been deemed as the only medication available to treat chronic pain, medical marijuana is emerging as a safer alternative. Marijuana is quite effective at treating chronic pain that results from nerve damage and inflammation.
Here’s how marijuana work to alleviate chronic pain.
THC vs. CBD
Certain cannabinoid chemicals that occur naturally in the human body resemble THC. When you ingest THC, the cannabinoid receptors in your brain are stimulated. This releases pleasant sensations and relieves pain because the psychoactive properties of the substance are at work.
CBD, on the other hand, offers the same pain relief without any psychoactive symptoms. It binds with pain receptors to exert anti-inflammatory effects that relieve chronic pain symptoms.
Research on Marijuana and Chronic Pain
In past years, a lot of research has been conducted in regard to deciphering a permanent solution for chronic pain. Because this problem impacts such a large part of the US population, the responsibility to find a treatment fell heavily on the medical industry.
Studies have used parts of the marijuana plant (in the form of CBD oil) or the whole herb to determine whether it can relieve pain. A review published in 2015 showed that cannabinoids are useful in alleviating nerve pain, providing a promising treatment for patients of neuropathy.
Another research study conducted in 2016 revealed that marijuana helped eliminate the need for opioids in case of cancer pain. This proved to be better for patients’ quality of life, and also resulted in fewer side-effects. Around 70% of 17000 cancer patients showed remarkable improvement and reported reduced pain with the help of marijuana.
Apart from cancer, studies have also been done on other kinds of chronic pains like migraines. Marijuana helped reduce migraine episodes in people suffering from this ailment.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has currently only licensed medical marijuana for a rare form of epilepsy that can’t be controlled otherwise. The medicinal drug comes by the name of Epidiolex and contains CBD. However, it’s important to note that FDA has not yet permitted the use of marijuana for pain relief from chronic conditions.
Looking for reliable providers of medical marijuana certificates?
IndicaMD is a telehealth medical service that provides reliable solutions to patients based on their medical conditions. You can conveniently consult a reliable medical marijuana doctors California or New York online through live video chat, and upon approval receive an e-letter of recommendation to help file for your medical marijuana card online. This process is hassle-free, quick, and user-friendly. If you’re in New York or California, we’re here to provide adept solutions for your health concern.
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