As marijuana legalization continues more and more politicians seem to be coming around to doing what is best for their constituents by legalizing marijuana at a minimum for medical reasons if not recreational. At a minimum their seems to be a push in a lot of states towards decriminalization if nothing else which should at least stop the trend of putting otherwise lawful citizens in jail just over a cannabis violation.
So Lets Talk About NJ & Adding Opioid Addiction As Qualifying As A MedicalCondition.
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It is becoming more and more known that cannabis is not a gateway drug but rather the opposite. It is a way to step down from hardcore drugs. We all are aware thru the news that Opioid’s are becoming and epidemic that is a growing concern in the USA.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has shown that he has some sense and has decided to add opioid addiction to be a qualifier for getting access to medical marijuana in NJ.
It is our hope that more and more states will start to adopt this stance and help those that are stuck on opioid’s an alternative that is a much healthier solution to dealing with chronic pain and other conditions that these drugs are prescribed for.
Here are some basic stats on the Opioid Crisis:
* These statistics come from DrugAbuse.Gov
- According to drugabuse.gov over 130 people in the USA die from an opioid overdose every day.
- Chronic Pain Patients are very susceptible to opioid abuse. At the tune of 21-29% end up abusing them.
- 8-12% of chronic pain patients end up with an opioid disorder.
- It is estimated that of those that are abusers 4-6% end up as heroin users.
- 80% of Heroin users at first abused prescription drugs.
- Prescription Drug overdoses increased 30% from 2016-2017.
- In the Midwest opioid overdoses increased by a whopping 70% from 2016-2017.
- In major cities opioid overdoses have gone up by 54% in 16 states
Just looking at some of these statistics is pretty scary and just shows that cbd oil’s and other cbd supplements are really a much better way for us to start tackling chronic pain and other conditions that require opioid’s. While we cant get rid of them period we can certainly get smarter about when to prescribe them.
So What made NJ Change Their Tune On Opioid’s?
In the state the death rate for prescription drug overdoses has been on the rise. For 4 straight years it has been estimated that roughly 4000 Jersey residents have died from an opioid overdose.
The states Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal has supported this move based on two studies that have shown convincing evidence that medical cannabis is lowering the opioid death rate when medical cannabis is supported.
We can only applaud both the Governor Phil Murphy and Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal for being proactive in bringing a medical cannabis solution to those in need of pain management and an alternative to opioid’s.
So What made NJ Change Their Tune On Opioid's?
In the state, the death rate for prescription drug overdoses has been on the rise. For 4 straight years, it has been estimated that roughly 4000 Jersey residents have died from an opioid overdose.
The states Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal has supported this move based on two studies that have shown convincing evidence that medical cannabis is lowering the opioid death rate when medical cannabis is supported.
We can only applaud both the Governor Phil Murphy and Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal for being proactive in bringing a medical cannabis solution to those in need of pain management and an alternative to opioids.
