FEATURE
SEEDS OF
CHANGE
VAPING CBD COULD HELP REMEDY THE
DECADES-LONG OPIOID CRISIS
BY GORDON STRIBLING
CBD is rarely out of the news these days. A steady body
of research and countless anecdotal accounts support
CBD’s effectiveness at treating the symptoms of a variety of
illnesses, from anxiety to multiple sclerosis.
Recent research suggests that the cannabinoid may even help
solve one of the biggest social and medical plagues of our time:
the opioid epidemic.
Opioids are psychoactive drugs commonly prescribed for pain
relief. The word encompasses drugs derived from opium, such
as morphine and codeine, and synthetic analogues that produce
similar effects, like tramadol, hydrocodone and fentanyl.
Initially prescribed to ease painful cancer symptoms, synthetic
opioid prescription skyrocketed in the late 90s and early 00s after
small studies demonstrated their effectiveness at easing other
types of pain.
It was around this time that Purdue Pharma began marketing their
new synthetic opioid drug to medical practitioners at conferences
around the US. Oxycontin was slated as low-risk. But the ensuing
high availability of the drug led to a tide of addiction. By 2004,
Oxycontin had become the leading drug of abuse in the US,
contributing to a 41 percent increase in opioid-related deaths over
a 12-year period.
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