Medical Cannabis and Conventional Pharmaceuticals Don’t Have to Be Enemies

Cannabis and big pharma have kind of butted heads against each other for quite some time now. It wasn’t long ago when cannabis was finding its way into modern medicine around the world. All the way up until the early 1980s, cannabis played a pivotal role in many nations’ pharmacopeia. During the movement for cannabis legalization, many people brought attention to the fact that big pharma was guilty of various types of crimes. They lied about what their drugs did; they bribed people to sell them and push them, and then paid minuscule fines as a punishment.

Cannabis Has a Safer Record Than A Lot of Pharmaceuticals

Unlike many common prescription medications, cannabis doesn’t come with a risk of death. It would take an exorbitant amount of cannabis to reach a lethal point of toxicity. However, that is not to say that cannabis is without negative side effects. You can get uncomfortably intoxicated from consuming too much cannabis but a person won’t die from it. The reason why opiate medication can be dangerous is that it impacts a part of the brain that controls breathing. In the event of an opiate overdose, a person can stop breathing or even asphyxiate from a vomit response while incapacitated. Many maintenance medications also require a patient to be weaned when they want to come off or else they run the risk of detrimental side effects such as severe withdrawal symptoms, seizures, and even death. Medical cannabis does not come with the same level of acute dangers as some mainstream medications.

Big Pharma Doesn’t Have the Best Reputation – But It Isn’t All Bad

Big pharma may have a bit of a bad rep at the moment. Companies like Johnson & Johnson, Lily, Pfizer, and Purdue have wreaked havoc with people globally. That doesn’t mean that pharmaceuticals are all the devil. Let’s not forget that advancements in medicine and medical science have come a long way. These days, we have an extremely low mortality rate for women giving birth in hospitals than yesteryear. Complications that would have previously taken women’s lives can now be fixed with medical advancements such as c-sections. Diabetics now have insulin, there are vaccines to prevent the many diseases that were previously considered a death sentence, and many other types of medically assisted treatment options that can provide hope where there was once none.

The Tides Are Finally Turning

Instead of looking at cannabis as the devil’s lettuce and believing the propaganda of decades of reefer madness, medical professionals have started opening their eyes to this incredible plant. Cannabis can play a pivotal role in helping many different circumstances where pharmaceuticals are used. Combining cannabis with pharmaceuticals changes the effect of both. In some instances, for better or worse which is why you must always consult with a physician beforehand. For example, for those who take consistent mental health medications levels, it may be advisable to steer clear from cannabinoids until the science is better understood.

How Cannabis Can Work Alongside Traditional Pharmaceuticals 

There are many ways in which cannabis can help us live longer, healthier, and happier lives. When medications are necessary, cannabis could play a significant role in assisting other medications to work better. All the way from helping with side effects from prescription drugs to helping the drugs themselves work better, cannabis and pharma could learn something from each other.

• Reduces Dependency and Addiction

When treating conditions such as anxiety, depression, nausea, insomnia, inflammation, pain, and other common ailments with modern medicines, incorporating cannabinoid therapies could help reduce the number of pharmaceuticals needed and the strength of those medicines for patients to find relief. There have been thousands of anecdotal stories backing this belief. Cannabis has even helped those that are addicted to pharmaceuticals, such as opioids, to reduce their dependency and find relief from the chains of addiction.

• Reduces Side Effects

The majority of modern medicine comes with a plethora of potential side effects. Some of the most common side effects of pharmaceuticals and over the counter medications are nausea, vomiting, nervousness, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, and muscle weakness, to name a few. Coincidentally, these are all things that cannabis has shown to offer potential relief. Perhaps reducing the severity and frequency of pharmaceutical side effects is yet another way that cannabis and pharma can work better together.

• Combining Chemotherapy and Cannabinoids for Better Results

Cannabis can also work in conjunction with chemotherapy. Cannabis oil, also called Rick Simpson oil, is known to help kill cancer cells in many different situations. Chemotherapy is a time in which the cells of the body become ravished by radiation. This radiation does not interpret the difference between cells, in return, attacking all of them in one concentrated area. This can cause pain, discomfort, nausea, loss of appetite, and much more for patients undergoing chemotherapy. It just so happens these are all areas that cannabis seems to be great at helping with. In conjunction with chemotherapy, those who are utilizing cannabinoid therapies are starting to see positive results. They have improved appetite, experience less inflammation and pain, and often have a more improved outlook on life than those not on cannabinoid therapies.

Always consult a physician or healthcare professional before trying cannabis therapy to be sure that it’s right for you. Have you utilized cannabinoid therapies in conjunction with modern medicine and found better results? We would love to hear from you in the comments below!