Elizabeth Warren asks CDC to consider legal marijuana as alternative painkiller
Published on 2/11/16
In a letter to the CDC, Senator Elizabeth Warren asked to have medical marijuana considered in further research of opioid addiction. The prescription drug epidemic is a major problem that needs addressing and even presidential candidates are looking for the solution. From 2000-2014, prescription opioid use doubled in the US, creating unnecessary addiction while attempting to treat chronic pain. Warren requested the CDC provide more information on “the use, uptake and effectiveness of medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids for pain treatment in states where it is legal”.
She also asked them to look into “the impact of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana on opioid overdose deaths”.
Medical cannabis laws were tied with lower state-level opioid overdose death rates, according to a study published in the December 2014 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association. And hundreds of people in Massachusetts who are addicted to opioids are being treated with medical marijuana.
