Marijuana Vs Opioids

Both medical marijuana and opioids are known for their pain-relieving analgesic properties. Even though chronic pain has been a public concern for a long time, efforts are being made to identify the right pain solutions (Acton, 2013). Although both opioids and medical marijuana are used to treat chronic pain, there are some similarities and distinctions between them. In several cases, medicinal marijuana and opioids will be compared and contrasted in this article. For instance, they can both relieve pain and are both recommended by physicians for this reason. However, there are variations between medicinal marijuana and opioids in terms of addiction and overdose. As a result, although marijuana can be used for recreational and medical purposes, doctors usually prescribe opioids for pain relief since marijuana is not yet accepted as a legal drug in most states. However, the use of opioids for pain is hazardous since it has a high potential of causing high addiction and overdose. As a result, most people prefer the use of medical marijuana, and it has increasingly been used as an alternative to the use of opium (Loria, 2017). People who are used to taking pain-relieving drugs tend to use what is readily available to them, be it marijuana or opioids.

Conclusion

Chronic pain has become a significant concern to the public, and many people seek to find the best drugs to relieve chronic pain. Commonly, opioids are prescribed for chronic pain. Medical marijuana is also prescribed by doctors for the same use as opioids. However, medicinal marijuana and opioids are different in many ways. The long-term use of both medical marijuana and opioid causes addiction. The use of opioids causes drowsiness and vomiting. Opioids also lead to an effect of wanting to use the drug repeatedly, which eventually leads to overdose. On the other hand, continued use of medical marijuana leads to dependence and ultimately addiction. Abrupt disuse of marijuana could cause withdrawal symptoms. Although both medical marijuana and opioids have adverse side effects, they help in reducing chronic pain which is a major concern for most patients.

References

Acton, Q. A. (2013). Issues in Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Drug Research, and Drug Innovation:2012 Edition. Atlanta, Georgia: ScholarlyEditions.

Ivker, R. (2017). Cannabis for Chronic Pain: A Proven Prescription for Using Marijuana to Relieve Your Pain and Heal Your Life. New York City: Simon and Schuster.

Loria, K. (2017, February 24). Sean Spicer compared marijuana to opioids but the science doesn’t support that idea. Retrieved November 1, 2017, from Business Insider: http://www.pulselive.co.ke/bi/tech/trumps-drugs-policy-sean-spicer-compared-marijuana-to-opioids-but-the-science-doesnt-support-that-idea-id6278801.html