Pubdate: Sat, 21 May 2016
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2016 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Charles A. Bush-Joseph

HANDLING PAIN

Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control noted over 25,000 
deaths in 2015 from prescription opiate overdose with an estimated 
1.9 million people dependent on these medications. CDC director 
Thomas Frieden said, "We know of no other medication routinely used 
for nonfatal conditions that kills patients so frequently." And 
despite research showing that the higher the dose of an opioid the 
greater the risk of overdose and death, an investigation reveals that 
the opiate manufacturers urged doctors to prescribe stronger doses.

Since 1999, OxyContin and other painkillers are responsible for 
claiming more than 190,000 lives from overdoses. A 2014 study 
published in JAMA analyzed the association between medical cannabis 
laws and opioid overdose mortality rates. This study concludes that 
states with medical cannabis laws had a 24.8 percent lower annual 
opioid overdose mortality rate in comparison to states without 
medical cannabis laws, and these reductions in overdose mortality 
rates generally strengthen each year after implementation of such 
laws. With these facts in mind, the CDC has issued new guidelines to 
primary care physicians to dramatically curb the use of prescription opiates.

As an orthopedic surgeon, I see many patients who suffer from 
conditions that traditional treatments or surgeries can't cure. The 
uncontrolled pain from these failed treatments leads many patients 
into opiate dependency for simple activities of daily function.

Medical cannabis provides physicians another treatment option to 
manage these difficult problems in a safe and regulated manner. The 
evolving body of knowledge in the medical literature supports its 
efficacy in treating non-cancer pain and published studies suggest 
the effectiveness of medical cannabis as a pain reliever with the 
added benefits of decreased opiate use.

Certainly any therapy that involves medications or compounds that 
have psychoactive effects warrants concern. That concern must be 
addressed with regulation to allow the intended benefits to those 
patients in need with disabling and uncontrolled pain. The Illinois 
Medical Cannabis Pilot Program is among the most tightly regulated 
programs in the U.S. and is well-crafted to minimize and prevent 
abuse of this beneficial therapy. I believe the physician oversight 
and dispensing regulations allow the safe use of medical cannabis as 
a treatment for patients suffering from chronic pain, intractable 
pain and neuropathy.

- - Dr. Charles A. Bush-Joseph, professor, department of orthopaedic 
surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom