Summary: As opioid use for chronic pain becomes less common in the US, doctors are exploring alternatives. One of the latest studies shows that many physicians are switching to medical cannabis instead. Thus, the use of medical cannabis is increasing, and the use of opioids is decreasing.
There is no doubt that opioids are among the most potent painkillers known to science. That is why they are preferred for severe pain and also to manage chronic pain. Moreover, opioids are not just painkillers, as they help in multiple ways. This explains why they are so effective for chronic pain.
However, now, one of the new studies shows that many doctors might prefer medical cannabis over opioids. Due to ever-changing guidelines, doctors are now more hesitant to prescribe opioids.
In recent years, opioid prescriptions have declined in the US. Opioid prescription guidelines have become more stringent due to safety concerns.
Surely, companies that produce opioids are also working to improve the safety of opioids. There is little chance that doctors will stop using opioids anytime soon. Opioid manufacturers are trying to develop drugs that have better safety profiles and opioids less likely to cause addiction and other health issues.
However, till then, it appears that doctors are actively looking for safer and yet effective options. Hence, many are increasingly prescribing medical cannabis. Although medical cannabis is not as potent for pain relief as opioids, but it might be quite good for certain chronic pain conditions due to its numerous effects, like the ability to reduce stress and modulate other brain pathways.
So, for this study, researchers analyzed data on direct payments from opioid manufacturers to physicians. In the study, they found that such payments are decreasing. Manufacturers of opioids make these payments to doctors to improve the professional skills of physicians and to ensure better prescribing practices. However, now, due to declining prescriptions, such payments have become less common.
Researchers say that this is also because doctors are increasingly viewing medical cannabis as a substitute for opioids for chronic pain treatment. Moreover, doctors are pretty excited about medical cannabis, and they think that, in some instances, it may be even superior to opioids.
Of course, when it comes to medical cannabis, things are still evolving. For several decades, cannabis remained classified as a controlled substance, which prevented research into its health benefits. However, now cannabis and its products are being increasingly used.
Sure, there are many different kinds of cannabis products, from very mild CBD-based products available without prescription to medical cannabis prescribed by doctors.
CBD is now a very popular topic, as health experts realize that cannabis extract has many cannabinoids with different modes of action. Moreover, these cannabinoids may even have opposing actions.
Thus, there are cannabinoids like cannabidiol or CBD with relaxing effects, and then there is THC known to cause intoxication. Although THC may cause intoxication, but it is also more potent for certain medical conditions, and for severe pain, and other health issues. Thus, medical cannabis contains full-spectrum cannabis extract that is high in CBD, THC, and other minor cannabinoids.
Medical cannabis cannot be compared to CBD products solely online since it has a much higher concentration of cannabinoids like CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids. This makes medical cannabis much more potent, but it also means that there are also safety concerns regarding its prolonged use.
To sum up, medical cannabis is slowly emerging as one of the potent treatments for chronic pain. Doctors are now increasingly viewing it as a substitute for opioids.
Source:
Karmakar, B., Mukherjee, G., & Kar, W. (n.d.). Using Penalized Synthetic Controls on Truncated Data: A Case Study on Effect of Marijuana Legalization on Direct Payments to Physicians by Opioid Manufacturers. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 0(0), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.2024.2406583
