Medical Cannabis May Replace Opioid Painkillers

Researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine conducted a study and concluded that medical cannabis can, in many cases, serve as a substitute for opioid painkillers.

Cannabis Relieves Pain for Most Patients

The scientists surveyed 2,183 residents of Florida who were using cannabis to treat:

• Mental health disorders and pain (47.92% of respondents);
• Only mental health disorders (28.86%);
• Only pain (9.07%).

Of those surveyed, 97.93% used cannabinoids daily. Regarding the duration of use:

• 65.1% had used medical cannabis for no more than 12 months,
• 20.99% for one to three years,
• 3.26% for three to five years,
• 2.79% for five to ten years,
• 7.86% for more than ten years.

After analyzing the responses, the researchers found that cannabis:

• Helped 99.9% of people relieve or eliminate their symptoms;
• Improved the quality of life for 99.04% of patients.

Notably, 62.81% of respondents said cannabis significantly improved their health, and 60.34% believed it greatly enhanced their quality of life. Cannabinoids significantly reduced or completely eliminated pain in 79.25% of Americans and lessened its negative impact on daily life for 84% of people. As a result, 79% of patients reduced their dosage or completely stopped taking opioid analgesics.

Medical Cannabis Could Help Address the Opioid Crisis

Based on the survey results and other scientific studies, the researchers from Florida State University College of Medicine believe that:

• Cannabis is an effective treatment for chronic pain;
• Using cannabis as an alternative to opioids does not worsen patients’ quality of life.

According to the analysis, after starting cannabis therapy, 41.71% of respondents stopped taking traditional painkillers, and 2.71% stopped using both analgesics and medications for mental health conditions. Patients were able to discontinue opioids because cannabis provided the relief they needed.

Since 1999, opioid analgesic use in the U.S. has risen sharply, leading to the so-called opioid crisis. From 2010 to 2020, the number of Americans who died from opioid overdoses increased more than fourfold—from 21,089 to 91,799. The situation has not improved recently; from 2019 to 2020, the number of fatal overdoses rose by 31%. Clearly, legalizing medical cannabis could help reverse this trend by giving all Americans access to cannabis as an alternative to opioids.