Florida's Premier Medical Cannabis Clinic

Unlike Opioids, Marijuana Doesn’t Increase Pain Sensitivity

Marijuana No Pain Sensitivity
Updated on March 13, 2023
Table of Contents

Roughly one in five American adults suffers from chronic pain, according to the CDC. For years, the go-to solution for doctors has been prescription pain killers. When over-the-counter stuff isn’t good enough, patients often receive a prescription for narcotic pain killers of some sort. In recent decades, more pain patients have moved away from dangerous prescriptions to more natural relief through cannabis. Once again, medical marijuana proves safer as a new study finds that unlike opioids, marijuana use does not increase sensitivity to pain.

Study Finds Cannabis Does Not Increase Pain Sensitivity

This new study was conducted by doctoral student Michelle St. Pierre in the psychology department at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan. We now know how long-term use of opioids can affect the patient, often increasing sensitivity to pain therefore increasing perceived pain. Therefore, it is important to understand how long-term regular cannabis use might affect patients.

According to St. Pierre:

Our results suggest frequent cannabis use did not seem to be associated with elevated sensitivity to experimental pain in a manner that can occur in opioid therapy.

The study recruited volunteers who used marijuana at least three times a week or more and established a control group that never consumed cannabis. The study participants then dunked their hand and forearm in icy water for a specific amount of times – a process called a cold-pressor task test.

Opioids Increase Sensitivity To Pain

Most often, chronic pain sufferers are prescribed some of the most dangerous drugs – opioids. Addiction Center statistics found that 20-30% of people prescribed opioids misuse their medicine while around 10% of those misusing their drugs will end up addicted. There are approximately 2.1 million Americans with opioid use disorder – and at least 5% of those people will go on to try heroin.

On top of all the addiction factors, there have been many studies in recent years that have determined that even short-term use of opioids can increase sensitivity to pain. The reason this game is so dangerous is that temporary pain relief that leaves patients more sensitive to pain will only increase the pain felt by those suffering from chronic pain.

The increased pain felt after the pills wear off is the reason that so many people increase their dosage, misuse the drugs, and become addicted.

Medical Marijuana Can Reduce Opioid Dependence

On the opposite end of things, there have been many studies done suggesting that medical marijuana can help patients fight opioid addiction. This recent study from UBC Okanagan’s psychology department only further fosters the case that medical marijuana is a safer alternative to opioids or any other prescription or over-the-counter pain reliever.

St. Pierre initially expected that her results would be similar to the many studies on opioid use and increased pain sensitivity – but the results shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who uses medical marijuana for chronic pain!

NEED YOUR MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD?

If you have questions about medical marijuana, we can help. CannaMD has a team of certified medical marijuana doctors who are prepared to answer any questions you might have! You can reach us at (855) 420-9170.  You can also find out if you qualify for medical marijuana with our quick online application.

Find Out If You Qualify

You may be eligible for medical marijuana!
To stay up-to-date with the latest studies and legal regulations surrounding medical marijuana treatment, be sure to follow CannaMD on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter, below!

Join 100k+ Subscribers!

Get updates on more posts like this!

Author Bio

Julia Granowicz

Julia Granowicz

Julia is a professional writer specializing in medical cannabis and alternative health reporting.
CONDITIONS
Categories
Related PostS
Feedback

Feedback from our readers is very important and helps us provide quality articles. Please don’t be shy, leave a comment.

If you have a topic you would like us to cover in our blog or you are interested in writing guest posts please contact us for more information.

FIND A DOCTOR
Get a medical marijuana certification in Florida