(Jack Burns) For many months now, The Free Thought Project
has reported, on numerous occasions, that cannabis is being
successfully used to treat opiate addictions. And while the mainstream
media has been largely silent on the subject of marijuana’s promise to
help users of these dangerous substances end their harmful addictions,
all that has recently changed.
Related Kratom and Addiction Recovery | After Massive Public Outcry, DEA Suspends Ban on Plant that Can Cure Opioid Addiction — For Now
Source – The Free Thought Project
by Jack Burns, March 19th, 2017
NBC News published a Reuters article titled, “Legalized Marijuana Could Help Curb the Opioid Epidemic, Study Finds” — a move which is a noticeable break from its Big Pharma advertising base. According to recently published cannabis research, marijuana has now demonstrated its ability to significantly reduce opiate and heroin-related deaths, just as TFTP has been reporting all along.
The research focused on those states which have gone against the federal government and legalized medical marijuana. Currently, there are 28 states which have legalized marijuana in some form or another.
Related First of Its Kind Study: Pot NOT a Gateway Drug, Can Treat Tobacco & Opioid Addiction
Ironically, the researchers weren’t trying to find evidence cannabis can curb the opioid problem — they were attempting to determine whether or not hospitals would notice an increase in hospitalizations related to cannabis consumption. According to the NBC News report, “In states that legalized medical marijuana, U.S. hospitals failed to see a predicted influx of pot smokers.” However, what the researchers did notice was something they apparently weren’t looking for. While the hospitals didn’t see the predicted increase in cannabis-related hospitalizations, “they treated far fewer opioid users.”
The reduction in opioid-related hospitalizations was down a staggering 23 percent! For comparison purposes, the study examined hospitalization data in both states which have legalized medical marijuana (MMJ) and other states which do not have MMJ programs at work in their state. At least 22 U.S. states still prohibit what the federal government still considers a Schedule I narcotic as powerful as cocaine, heroin, and LSD.
READ MORE: You Can’t Make This Up! — Cop Caught on His Own Body Cam Stealing Pot from Police Dept
Going further, the number of overdoses dropped as well in those states which have MMJ. “Hospitalization rates for opioid overdoses dropped 13 percent on average,” the mainstream news media organization quoted from Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the authors of the study. So, in summary, not only does the legalization of marijuana have a positive impact on opioid and heroin hospitalizations, but it also reportedly has a favorable impact on overdoses.
Echoing what TFTP has been advocating for years, the study’s researchers spelled out, in no uncertain terms, the impact MMJ legalization has made on opiate addictions. Yuan Shi, the study’s author and health professor at the University of California, San Diego, said, “medical marijuana laws may have reduced hospitalizations related to opioid pain relievers.” According to NBC News, Shi said in an email, “This study and a few others provided some evidence regarding the potential positive benefits of legalizing marijuana to reduce opioid use and abuse, but they are still preliminary.”
About The Author
Jack Burns
Jack Burns is an educator, journalist, investigative reporter, and advocate of natural medicine.
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