By Frank G. Shineman
Aclara Research recently conducted a study that was striving to make a determination on whether medical marijuana could be successfully used to reduce addiction to opioid pharmaceuticals. Their study enlisted the help of 400 patients and 500 pharmacists with the objective to determine what the effect of cannabis would be on opioids. The results were very surprising. They found that 67% of the participants were able to completely cease their addiction with access to State grown marijuana. Twenty-nine percent were able to reduce their use of opiates, but 4% said their Opioid use was unaffected with the consumption of cannabis. Under the auspices of Aclara Research, 30% of participants eliminated the use of all prescriptions.
In an additional report, The Journal of Pain stated that among 244 patients they surveyed were able to reduce their usage of opiates by a startling 64%. Please take the time to watch a Youtube video that will give you more insight into the life of an opiate addict and how cannabis gave her another opportunity at life(https://youtu.be/dp/WYSFVWb4).
As we observe the misguided policies espoused by law enforcement officials at the Federal level, our hearts are filled with sadness. Though I have been blessed to never have had pain issues needing opioids, I wholeheartedly campaign on behalf of those who need the lifesaving effects of medical marijuana. With a compassionate heart for those whose lives have been imprisoned by opioid addiction, please take the time to watch this video.
Although every day many more thousands of Americans are becoming aware of the danger of opioids, evil Big Pharma lurks in the shadows trying to change the attitudes of lawmakers at every level of government. Big Pharma’s fight is against the possibility of Medical Marijuana becoming the accepted and legal means to save countless lives from the ravages of opioid addiction. Just recently, Amanda C. Lewis wrote for Rolling Stone magazine giving us more details on how Pharmaceutical Corporations are battling to stop this growing groundswell of public opinion, and all it is about is protecting their profits. The more I see the evil of Big Pharma in their fight to save their profits, the more I become convinced that this is a gargantuan battle against humanity. Why do I say this? Because all over this great country of ours, a huge chorus of voices is rising from Seattle to Miami- from Bangor, Maine to San Diego that medical marijuana is the answer to healing our persistent health issues!
In her efforts to shine a light on the evil of Big Pharma, Lewis reported on a pharmaceutical company called Insys Therapeutics. This evil corporate cabal donated $500,000.00 to a political campaign in Arizona to stop the legalization of medical marijuana. All of this because it would disrupt part of the $24 billion profit they would earn through the sale of their Fentanyl based drugs. For those who are not aware, Fentanyl is a manmade poison, reported to be 50 times more powerful than heroin. But tragically, the plague of deaths from opioid addiction in Arizona is very real. Arizonaaddictioncenter.org reports that between 2015 and 2016 there was a 16.3% increase in deaths from opioids, resulting in 790 deaths. This reflects a 74% increase in opioid deaths from 2012.
