Can this dank nug heal? Photo credit: Photo credit: Horsma/HamppuforumMedical marijuana advocates have claimed for years that cannabis is an effective and safe alternative to prescription opioids for the treatment of pain. But no one put up the money to prove it until last week.
On Tuesday, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System announced a forthcoming study to ascertain whether medical marijuana can alleviate the need for opioids in both HIV-positive and HIV-free patients who suffer from chronic pain. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is putting $3.5 million towards the investigation.
A study published last year suggests the Albert Einstein College of Medicine is on the right track.
In 2016, researchers at the University of Michigan published two years' worth of survey results collected from 185 medical marijuana patients suffering from various ailments. Patients reported a 45 percent improvement in quality of life and a 64 percent reduction in the use of prescription opioids.
"We would caution against rushing to change current clinical practice towards cannabis," said Michigan study leader Kevin Boehnke, "but note that this study suggests that cannabis is an effective pain medication and agent to prevent opioid overuse."
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is right to point out that we have far less data than one might expect, considering the first state to legalize medical marijuana did so 21 years ago. Most research into Schedule I drugs is paid for by the federal government, which has historically underwritten only those studies that either show the harms of such substances or explain their mechanism of action. The federal monopoly on research marijuana, meanwhile, makes studying the drug's therapeutic qualities an exercise in bureaucratic kowtowing.
But we do know there is a correlation between medical marijuana legalization and opioid use. A 2014 study that looked at 11 years of overdose data found that death rates from opioids increased in both states with liberalized marijuana laws and those without, but that "medical cannabis laws were associated with lower rates of opioid analgesic overdose mortality."
When University of Georgia economist David Bradford looked at Medicare prescribing rates, he found that physicians in medical marijuana states prescribed "1,826 fewer doses of conventional pain medication each year."
In addition to receiving funding from NIHitself a noteworthy developmentthe Albert Einstein College of Medicine will conduct its study using marijuana provided by New York medical marijuana dispensaries, rather than the moldy ditchweed provided to researchers by the Drug Enforcement Administration's operation at the University of Mississippi.
Cannabis research has turned another corner.
Continued here:
- Ed's Guide to Alternative Therapies - pathguy.com - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine Guide | University ... - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Overview - December 26th, 2016 [December 26th, 2016]
- Alternative Medicine, Holistic Doctors,Naturopathic ... - January 5th, 2017 [January 5th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine Degrees - Excite Education - January 13th, 2017 [January 13th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine | Category | Fox News - January 13th, 2017 [January 13th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine - Disabled World - January 13th, 2017 [January 13th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine Degree, BS - Everglades University - January 23rd, 2017 [January 23rd, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine | Duke University Press - January 23rd, 2017 [January 23rd, 2017]
- Bill to rein in alternative medicine practitioners - Bangalore Mirror - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Peroxide ingestion, promoted by alternative medicine, can be deadly - Science Daily - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Can Peroxide Kill You? Yes, Say Doctors About This Alternative Medicine Favorite - Medical Daily - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Marijuana tension between clinical, alternative medicine ... - Washington Times - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Cannabis providers feel tension between clinical and alternative medicine - The Cannabist - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Happy Healthy YOU - Tillsonburg News - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Health dept cracks down on alternative meds containing sildenafil citrate - NYOOOZ - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine Conferences | Traditional Medicine ... - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- American Institute of Alternative Medicine - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Alternative medicine to treat pain and other ailments on the rise locally - Rockford Register Star - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine Career Information and Education ... - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Why is alternative medicine so popular? - Alternative ... - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Potential dangers and dubious history of alternative medicine are often unknown to its consumers - MinnPost - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- New form of alternative medicine comes to OU - Oaklandpostonline - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- OPENING THE PLAYBOOK ON ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE - Dope Magazine - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Ask a Doctor: Is there an alternative medicine treatment for constant pain? - Chattanooga Times Free Press - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Alternative medicine grows in Sugar Land, Missouri City - Community Impact Newspaper - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Medicine with a side of mysticism: Top hospitals promote unproven therapies - STAT - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Abstracts: Obamacare Replacement, Alternative Medicine, and More - Undark Magazine - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- For Prairie Village practitioner, personal experience led to interest in alternative medicine techniques - Shawnee Mission Post - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Financial Planning + Alternative Medicine - March 8, 2017 ... - KHTS Radio - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- Premier U.S. Hospitals Are Selling Unproven Alternative Therapies ... - KQED - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Speakers lay stress on use of alternative medicine - The Nation - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Top U.S. hospitals promote unproven medicine with a side of ... - PBS - PBS NewsHour - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Medical cannabis expert discusses treatment options - Herald-Whig - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- 5 ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES EVERY MAN SHOULD BE AWARE OF - TORO Magazine - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- CID unearths fake 'council of alternative medicines' in Behala - Millennium Post - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Parents who believe in 'alternative nutrition' convicted after baby dies of malnutrition - Telegraph.co.uk - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- Times of Malta Alternative medicine - Times of Malta - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Suffering from severe pain? Experts say THIS form of alternative medicine will work just as well as drugs! - Zee News - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- IBAM Indian Board of Alternative Medicine - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- Alternative medicine practitioner charged with sexual assault in Burlington - Hamilton Spectator - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- Mind, body, spirit: Nurse opens holistic health store to promote overall wellness - Muscatine Journal - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- Four of the Most Misused Terms in Alternative Medicine - ATTN: - June 24th, 2017 [June 24th, 2017]
- How cupping therapy helps athletes like Michael Phelps as an alternative medicine - Sport360 - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Calimesa Alternative Medicine - Weedmaps - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Homeopathic Health Center | Columbus, OH - (614) 890-2589 - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine | What Is Alternative Medicine? - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Quotes About Alternative Medicine (30 quotes) - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine That Doctors Recommend | Reader's Digest - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine Schools - Excite Education - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Medical journal takes aim at natural remedies - CBC.ca - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Healing through alternative medicine: Winona locals choose acupuncture as a cure - Winona Daily News - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Patrick Noel, DC: Restoring the body's innate ability to heal through chiropractic care - Colorado Springs Gazette - June 27th, 2017 [June 27th, 2017]
- Back Pain? Try Yoga - New York Times - June 29th, 2017 [June 29th, 2017]
- Jerusalem: Alternative healer indicted on rape charges - The Jerusalem Post - June 29th, 2017 [June 29th, 2017]
- Does Pink Himalayan Salt Have Any Health Benefits? - TIME - June 29th, 2017 [June 29th, 2017]
- Not all wellness is bullshit - Quartz - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- What's happening in your body during acupuncture? - The Verge - July 1st, 2017 [July 1st, 2017]
- Natural and Alternative Medicine against Asthma - Radio Cadena Agramonte - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Alternative Medicine in Halacha: a Review - Yeshiva World News - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- West Bengal's top doctors turn out fakes, arrests blow lid off thriving scam - Hindustan Times - July 5th, 2017 [July 5th, 2017]
- Sudbury woman chooses alternative treatments for stage 4 cancer - CBC.ca - July 6th, 2017 [July 6th, 2017]
- Unbiased reporting can help call time on pseudoscience - EuroScientist - July 6th, 2017 [July 6th, 2017]
- Holistic therapy for pets? Traditional vet care being blended with reiki, acupuncture - Georgia Voice - July 7th, 2017 [July 7th, 2017]
- A Memoir of Chronic Fatigue Illustrates the Failures of Medical Research - The New Yorker - July 10th, 2017 [July 10th, 2017]
- Valtrex after expiration - Alternative medicine for herpes simplex 2 - Van Wert independent - July 11th, 2017 [July 11th, 2017]
- Sacred Space, University of Miami partner to educate community on wellness - Miami Herald - July 11th, 2017 [July 11th, 2017]
- One FDA About-Face Doesn't Mean an Orphan-Drug Bonanza - Bloomberg - July 12th, 2017 [July 12th, 2017]
- 'Bridging medicine with nature' - The Torrington Telegram - July 12th, 2017 [July 12th, 2017]
- Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop posted a defense of its jade eggs for vaginas. It's a mess. - Vox - July 14th, 2017 [July 14th, 2017]
- Acupuncture for pets? Yes, it's a thing - MyDaytonDailyNews - July 15th, 2017 [July 15th, 2017]
- Create Ministry for traditional, alternative medicine - Association - Graphic Online - July 17th, 2017 [July 17th, 2017]
- Native American healing class sparks unique health textbook - ABC News - July 18th, 2017 [July 18th, 2017]
- Rav Elyashiv ZTL On Alternative Medicine By R. Yair Hoffman - Yeshiva World News - July 18th, 2017 [July 18th, 2017]
- Expedite action on the passage of the alternative medicine bill ... - GhanaWeb - July 18th, 2017 [July 18th, 2017]
- Is Gwyneth Paltrow's pseudoscience winning? - Vox - July 20th, 2017 [July 20th, 2017]
- Salt Therapy Gaining Popularity in Alternative Medicine Circles - Newsmax - July 22nd, 2017 [July 22nd, 2017]
- Vargas: Weeding out herbal remedies for our pets - News Chief - July 24th, 2017 [July 24th, 2017]
- Patients recognise over-worked GPs as majority agree to see alternative medical professionals - Herald Series - July 25th, 2017 [July 25th, 2017]
- Cancer controversies and traditional medicines - Regina Leader-Post - July 26th, 2017 [July 26th, 2017]