Medical​ ​Cannabis​ ​vs.​ ​The​ ​Opioid​ ​Crisis

Nativ Segev

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MGC Pharmaceuticals

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3 min read

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Nov 16, 2017

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A​ ​word​ ​from​ ​Nativ​ ​Segev,​ ​Founder​ ​&​ ​Managing​ ​Director​ ​of​ ​MGC​ ​Pharmaceuticals.

I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​talk​ ​about​ ​something​ ​a​ ​little​ ​bit​ ​different​ ​than​ ​usual.​ ​Something​ ​that​ ​has​ ​been​ ​a recurring​ ​theme​ ​in​ ​my​ ​newsfeed​ ​for​ ​the​ ​past​ ​several​ ​years:

Prescription​ ​opioids​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Opioid​ ​Crisis.

Prescription​ ​opioid​ ​painkillers​ ​are​ ​all​ ​too​ ​common​ ​and​ ​readily​ ​available​ ​in​ ​Australia,​ ​and​ ​that’s not​ ​a​ ​good​ ​thing.​ ​You​ ​might​ ​have​ ​read​ ​about​ ​the​ ​Opioid​ ​Crisis​ ​going​ ​on​ ​in​ ​the​ ​United​ ​States, where​ ​about​ ​142​ ​people​ ​are​ ​dying​ ​every​ ​day​ ​from​ ​accidental​ ​overdoses​ ​of​ ​prescription​ ​opioids​ ​– roughly​ ​60,000​ ​people​ ​last​ ​year.​ ​While​ ​the​ ​numbers​ ​aren’t​ ​nearly​ ​as​ ​bad​ ​as​ ​in​ ​the​ ​US, Australian’s​ ​are​ ​still​ ​at​ ​a​ ​huge​ ​risk​ ​of​ ​opioid​ ​addiction,​ ​ranking​ ​in​ ​at​ ​number​ ​8​ ​among​ ​the​ ​world’s top​ ​users​ ​of​ ​prescription​ ​opiates,​ ​with​ ​20,000​ ​doses​ ​being​ ​prescribed​ ​for​ ​every​ ​1​ ​million​ ​people.

Alex​ ​Wodak,​ ​the​ ​President​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Australian​ ​Drug​ ​Law​ ​Reform​ ​Foundation​ ​stated:​ ​“We​ ​doctors and​ ​pain​ ​specialists​ ​made​ ​a​ ​terrible​ ​error​ ​in​ ​the​ ​‘70s,​ ​‘80s​ ​and​ ​‘90s.​ ​We​ ​prescribed​ ​opiates​ ​too readily​ ​and​ ​at​ ​too​ ​high​ ​a​ ​dose​ ​to​ ​too​ ​many​ ​people.”

In​ ​fact,​ ​opiate-based​ ​pain​ ​medication​ ​is​ ​a​ ​large​ ​source​ ​of​ ​revenue​ ​in​ ​Australia,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​is​ ​definitely time​ ​that​ ​the​ ​government​ ​started​ ​considering​ ​safer​ ​alternatives​ ​to​ ​stop​ ​the​ ​issues​ ​that​ ​are plaguing​ ​the​ ​country.

You​ ​might​ ​be​ ​asking​ ​yourself​ ​why​ ​I​ ​am​ ​discussing​ ​the​ ​Opioid​ ​Crisis​ ​in​ ​a​ ​blog​ ​for​ ​a​ ​Medical Cannabis​ ​company,​ ​and​ ​the​ ​answer​ ​is​ ​simple.​ ​Medical​ ​Cannabis​ ​is​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​best​ ​ways​ ​to combat​ ​the​ ​opioid​ ​crisis,​ ​not​ ​just​ ​here​ ​in​ ​Australia,​ ​but​ ​across​ ​the​ ​world.

The​ ​Journal​ ​of​ ​the​ ​American​ ​Medicine​ ​Association​ ​(JAMA)​ ​published​​ ​​a​ ​study​​ ​that​ ​found​ ​states that​ ​had​ ​made​ ​Medical​ ​Cannabis​ ​legal​ ​had​ ​a​ ​24.8​ ​percent​ ​lower​ ​average​ ​annual​ ​opioid overdose​ ​death​ ​rate​ ​compared​ ​to​ ​states​ ​without​ ​Medical​ ​Cannabis​ ​laws.

How​ ​are​ ​the​ ​two​ ​connected,​ ​you​ ​might​ ​be​ ​asking.​ ​Well,​ ​research​ ​out​ ​of​ ​the​​ ​​University​ ​of Kentucky​​ ​has​ ​shown​ ​us​ ​that​ ​CBD,​ ​derived​ ​from​ ​Medical​ ​Cannabis,​ ​can​ ​significantly​ ​suppress chronic​ ​inflammatory​ ​and​ ​neuropathic​ ​pain,​ ​with​ ​no​ ​side​ ​effects.​ ​It’s​ ​not​ ​addictive​ ​and​ ​it’s impossible​ ​to​ ​overdose​ ​on.

Opiate​ ​painkillers​ ​only​ ​mask​ ​pain​ ​and​ ​can​ ​potentially​ ​be​ ​very​ ​addictive​ ​with​ ​the​ ​body​ ​able​ ​to build​ ​up​ ​a​ ​tolerance​ ​over​ ​time.​ ​CBD,​ ​on​ ​the​ ​other​ ​hand,​ ​​ ​is​ ​an​ ​effective​ ​anti-inflammatory​ ​that won’t​ ​lose​ ​effectiveness.

Prescribing​ ​Medical​ ​Cannabis​ ​as​ ​an​ ​alternative​ ​to​ ​opiates​ ​would​ ​do​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​to​ ​help​ ​end​ ​the​ ​Opioid Crisis​ ​across​ ​the​ ​world.​ ​While​ ​more​ ​research​ ​needs​ ​to​ ​be​ ​done​ ​before​ ​this​ ​can​ ​be​ ​actioned,​ ​at MGC​ ​Pharma,​ ​we​ ​stand​ ​by​ ​our​ ​vision​ ​of​ ​helping​ ​to​ ​heal​ ​the​ ​world​ ​through​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of​ ​Medical Cannabis,​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Opioid​ ​Crisis​ ​is​ ​no​ ​exception.