Medical marijuana and opioids are “equally efficacious” at mitigating pain intensity in patients with chronic pain, according to a new study in the Journal of Cannabis Research—but cannabis also provides more “holistic” relief, such as by improving sleep, focus, and emotional wellbeing. Researchers said their findings support the hypothesis that medical cannabis (MC) “alleviates pain through holistically altering the pain experience” rather than “only targeting pain intensity.”
“The results of the present study support the hypothesis that the effects of MC on pain experience are more holistic than those of opioids,” their report says. “MC may alleviate pain through affecting a broad range of pain-related experience experiential factors such as relaxation, improved sleep, and mood, being able not to react to the pain, as well as a sense of control.”
The researchers concluded from the self-reported data that medical marijuana and opioids “were perceived to be equally efficacious in reducing pain intensity, but MC additionally positively affected broader pain-related factors such as emotion, functionality, and overall sense of wellbeing.”
“Both MC and opioids were perceived to reduce pain intensity equally well,” the study says. Participants said the two treatments “did not differ” in terms of side effects, but they rated the overall effects of medical cannabis as more positive. The strongest differences between the two groups, the study says, were more profound relaxation, better sleep, improved mood, and being able to feel pain without reacting to it, which were more commonly reported in the medical marijuana group.
If you or you know of a loved one who would like to try cannabis, feel free to go to one of our stores and ask our Budtenders any questions, and they’ll be happy to answer you. There are ways to ease yourself into Cannabis use, and you don’t have to smoke it. You can eat it, vape it, rub it, and you can measure how much you take, which is called “dosing.” You can “MicroDose” using our Ole’4 tinctures or Pacific Reserve Gummies, which will ease you into it. Remember to ask your Budtender!
