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The use of medical marijuana continues to become more common. In fact, a recently conducted study found that more individuals are using cannabis for medical purposes, instead of just to get “high”. The study surveyed over 165,000 marijuana users in the United States and it the results showed that about half of the participants reported using cannabis to help treat a medical condition instead of using it recreationally.
The survey participants that suffer from depression, cancer, and various respiratory issues were some of the most common medical conditions that patients used marijuana to help alleviate their symptoms. In addition to these conditions, chronic pain is another ailment that patients use medical marijuana to treat in the U.S.
Another study reported that 85% of patients in the U.S. use their marijuana cards for medical purposes in order to help treat their symptoms, while others do it for fun. Of that 85% of medical marijuana patients, 62% of them were suffering from chronic pain. When it comes t treating chronic pain, traditional treatment methods usually involve opioids, which can have a variety of side effects such as constipation, dizziness, and nausea. Patients often reject prescription opioid treatment because they want an alternative treatment that has a lower risk of addiction.
Medical marijuana is a great alternative to opioids due to its minimal side effects and medicinal properties. Numerous medical marijuana patients claim their reasons for opting out of prescriptive pain medications is because of the potential for addiction. According to the CDC, the rate of opioid-related deaths in the United States has shown a steady increase since the start of the millennium. This is a result of the increasing number of opioid prescriptions since the late 1990s.
Since the increased availability of medical marijuana in recent years, the number of opioid prescriptions has begun to decline. Medical marijuana has been known to help minimize the side effects of withdrawal that prolonged opioid users experience when coming off of their prescriptions. Cannabis is also reported to have the potential to reduce cravings for other drugs.
If you are an Arkansan suffering from one of these 18 medical conditions you may be eligible to treat your ailment with medical marijuana, which includes both THC and CBD products.
Click here to learn more about what Arkansas Marijuana Card's state-certified medical marijuana doctors can do for you, or give us a call at (844-249-8714) and our friendly support team can walk you through the entire process, and set you up with an appointment through telemedicine.