The data is clear: legalized marijuana lowers opioid abuse and death rates

By DEREK BERES

Pain is important. It informs us of problems that need attention. Our biological pain system can go awry: some people don’t feel any pain while others experience chronic pain with no evident cause. There’s mental pain, which from a physiological perspective is no different than physical pain, which is why aspirin is sometimes used to treat emotional duress.

Our relationship to pain seems to become more problematic as societies acclimate to higher levels of comfort. The habit of pill-popping to counter any negative biological reaction is so engrained that we rarely question their chemical composition or long-term consequences. The shift from aspirin for minor aches and pains to the surge in opioid consumption signals a culture unwilling to deal with even the slightest discomfort.

Of course, there are good reasons for some opioid usage, but the scourge of addiction has hit us hard. A few people have grown very rich from this pharmacological trend; mostly, families across the nation have lost loved ones. Over a two-decade period, over 700,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, the bulk of them opioids.

As I’ve written about previously, over a one-year period I was given access to 120 Oxycodone tablets for surgeries due to cancer and a meniscus tear. Both times I took one and discarded the bottle. Instead, I turned to cannabis for pain management, which was not only more effective but also did not leave me susceptible to addiction.

Read more from the source: Bigthink.com