Shocker (NOT!): Cannabis Users Less Likely to Use Opioids for Pain

While not actually a shock to most people and certainly anyone in the cannabis industry, another recent study proves scientifically that those with chronic pain who use marijuana to manage their pain are less likely to use illicit opioid medications. As reported in Health Europa, the study, conducted in Vancouver, BC and published in a special issue of PLOS Medicine, found that daily use of marijuana significantly decreased the use of opioids in chronic pain sufferers.

The study, conducted by the University of British Columbia (UBC), was authored by a team led by Dr. M-J Milloy, a research scientist and professor of cannabis science at UBC. Milloy says that the study’s findings prove once again that people are using cannabis instead of opioids to manage pain on a daily basis. He is quoted in the article as saying, “In the midst of an ongoing public health emergency caused by opioid overdose deaths, the results suggest that increasing access to cannabis for therapeutic purposes could help curb overdose risk associated with illicit opioid use.”