Pain sufferers can wean themselves off heavy pain relievers, alcohol and other drugs as they increase their use of medical cannabis, according to Canadian researchers.
Canada is leading the world in medical cannabis studies and a new survey, published in the academic journal – Drug and Alcohol Review – showed: of 473 adult therapeutic cannabis users, 87 percent gave up prescription medications, alcohol, or other drugs in favor of cannabis. Adults younger than 40 were likely to give up all three for medical cannabis.
That may not be a large sample size but lead researcher Philippe Lucas said a larger, multi-site study is being launched shortly by his employer Tilray, a government licensed marijuana producer with a 60,000 square foot/30 million dollar testing facility, located in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Large pharmaceutical companies won’t comment.
One pharmaceutical spokesman told this reporter, “We don’t have a position on medicines which are aren’t approved by FDA, so unfortunately we won’t be able to offer comment.” Andrew Powaleny, senior manager of communications at PhRMA, toted that line for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents leading research-based pharmaceutical companies in the U.S.