Medical marijuana is already legal across several countries around the world, while others have also legalized the recreational use of cannabis. Now, however, a recent study focused on what makes patients opt for smoking pot for therapeutical purposes. According to the research, chronic pain is the leading cause of medical marijuana consumption.
The stigma around marijuana consumption had lost its grip in the US since the 1990s when experts came out recommending authorities to consider a liftoff of the ban on cannabis use. As a result, slowly but steadily, medical marijuana has been legalized across the United States. By 2018, however, 33 states and the District of Columbia regulated the consumption of cannabis for medical purposes. In addition to that, ten states across the US also legalized the recreational use of marijuana.
“We did this study because we wanted to understand the reasons why people are using cannabis medically and whether those reasons for use are evidence-based,” said the study’s leading author, Kevin Boehnke, from the University of Michigan.
Chronic Pain Is The Leading Cause Of Medical Marijuana Consumption
“Since the majority of states in the U.S. have legalized medical cannabis, we should consider how best to regulate cannabis and safely incorporate cannabis into medical practice adequately,” added Boehnke.
According to the new study conducted by Kevin Boehnke, the medical marijuana consumption rose considerably, while about 86 percent of the medicinal cannabis license holders reported that they appealed to pot due to an ailment. More than 62 percent of them admitted that they use medical marijuana to tackle chronic pain.
“This finding is consistent with the prevalence of chronic pain, which affects an estimated 100 million Americans,” said the researchers in the study’s report.
On the other hand, CBD might also treat chronic pain, according to Kevin Boehnke in another study, also released recently. However, CBD is not considered as potent as THC-rich marijuana by chronic pain patients. “CBD is incredibly accessible, as it is available online from a variety of vendors. However, the quality control for safety (for example, whether there are residual solvents, pesticides, etc.) and potency is widely variable,” added Boehnke.
