America is gripped by opioid addiction and a dangerous opioid epidemic – could CBD be a viable replacement?
Billboards, the liberal press, conservative media, and cannabis business websites all include content claiming CBD is the answer to the opioid issue. Some have argued that cannabis may be used instead of opioids to treat chronic pain and that legalising the drug might end the current overdose crisis.
However, there is widespread scepticism and suspicion among recovery experts about these assertions. They usually respond to these hopeful assertions with the terse “there is not research enough to justify any of this.” Is this true?
Let’s discuss the current research on how CBD might be the new painkiller solution.
Opioids are addictive and can lead to overdose
One reason why CBD may be a good replacement for opioids is because it is not considered addictive. This is why both CBD and CBN oil for sale are gaining popularity as a means of pain relief that doesn’t come with the same high as other opioids.
The use of opiates has become a national health crisis, with a total of 2,263 drug poisoning deaths involving opiates just in 2020. Nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription drug, making it one of the most common causes of death from unintentional injury.
CBD is a natural substance
CBD is a fully natural substance that comes from the cannabis plant, and it is also a very effective painkiller. CBD is completely safe to consume and contains no addictive properties. In many cases, CBD may be even more effective than opiates at treating certain kinds of pain.
Furthermore, CBD for the most part does not cause any type of physical dependency or withdrawal symptoms when it is stopped, which means that it has little potential for abuse.
CBD can be taken in many different ways including smoke inhalation, vaporising, and ingestion. It can even be applied externally on the skin since it’s not psychoactive.
CBD is less likely to cause side effects than opioids
CBD has been used to treat many health conditions including:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Chronic pain
- Cancer
- Epilepsy
- Other neurological disorders
Some studies have shown that CBD can be an incredibly effective alternative to prescription painkillers and opioid addiction medications such as Suboxone, Methadone, and Oxycontin among others.
Unlike opioids which can cause addiction and other kinds of harm, CBD does not cause any respiratory depression or death when taken in large doses. Since it does not cause highs like THC or euphoria like opioids do, CBD is considered to be safer than both of these substances.
CBD has a longer half-life than many opioids
CBD has a longer half-life than many opioids, which means that it can sometimes last for days after it is administered. This could be a good thing for chronically ill patients who need to manage their pain for a few days or for those who are using non-opioid medications but still have pain in the meantime.
CBD’s long-lasting effect could be of particular help to people who have trouble with chronic pain because they may not have to worry about waiting hours or even days between doses.
It is no exaggeration to say that scientific evidence supports the potential of CBD to relieve chronic pain and vastly reduce the use of opioids for both acute and chronic pain. However, there is no doubt that additional research will be necessary before we can properly assess the implications of these results in the real world of clinical practice and patient care.
Written Robin Roy Krigslund-Hansen Green Entrepreneur and Founder of Formula Swiss
