By Sam Bennison

To Your Health

Budding research indicates marijuana could reduce overdose deaths

Apr 23, 2024 | 2:04 PM

PRINCE GEORGE— Nadine Furnell suffers from chronic pain due to being in six motor vehicle accidents. She was initially prescribed Lyrica for pain management but she says the side effects were too much to bare.

“I was on a nerve pain blocker, called Lyrica, which has a lot of really yucky side effects,” says Furnell, a director for the B.C. Craft Cannabis Co-op. “It’s not a nice medication to be on. I didn’t like the way that I felt when I was taking that medication.”

In an effort to manage the pain without the undesired side effects she turned to using cannabis. Research shows that cannabinoids are an effective pain relief medication and in some cases may be able to be used as a replacement to other medication including opioids.

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Additionally, observational research from the University of British Columbia (UBC) shows that some drug users are using cannabis instead of more dangerous illicit street drugs.

“Our research, which involves about 2500 people who use drugs. in Vancouver; mainly in the Downtown Eastside. We’ve found that a substantial proportion, maybe about, a quarter to a third of those folks tell us that they use cannabis for harm reduction,” explains Dr. M-J Milloy, a Canopy Growth Professor of Cannabis Science at UBC.

While cannabis is still addictive and can cause acute side effects the risk is much less compared to the poisoned drug supply. Additionally, people cannot overdose on marijuana. Clinical trials are starting to take place to determine whether or not cannabis may be a key piece of the puzzle when it comes to the future of pain management and harm reduction.

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Email: sam.bennison@pattisonmedia.com