Pharmaceutical Independence Day – The majority of Americans now prefer weed over prescription drugs, a new study says

Around 131 million people in the United States take prescription drugs.

This corresponds to 66% of the population, most of whom are elderly and chronically ill. Most adults have one of 5 common chronic medical conditions that require the use of prescription medications – these are heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and high blood pressure. Prescription drugs often need to be refilled, so it’s no surprise that the global pharmaceutical industry was worth a staggering $1.42 trillion in 2021.

However, the good news is that more people are realizing the benefits of using cannabis instead.

In a new survey by The Harris Poll and Curaleaf, they found that 91% of American adults 21 and older who use marijuana do so for health and well-being. They also found that 75% of Americans prefer natural solutions to drugs to treat a condition whenever possible, and 62% of participants said they prefer cannabis over drugs to treat medical conditions.

In addition, the survey found that 88% of people who use cannabis as an alternative or in conjunction with pharmaceutical treatments report an improvement in well-being. Meanwhile, 86% of those who have used cannabis would recommend it to family or friends to treat a medical condition.

“Educating consumers on how cannabis can be used to support everyday health and wellness needs is crucial to destigmatizing the plant and giving consumers more choices that best fit their personal lifestyle,” explains dr Stacia Woodcock, Curaleaf’s Clinical Cannabis Pharmacist. “There are a variety of ways to safely consume cannabis, and many formulations actually have minimal intoxicating effects. Different product options with different ratios of THC and CBD give patients the opportunity to consume cannabis in a way that suits their lifestyle and comfort,” she says.

Why people should choose cannabis over prescription drugs

Heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, and cancer—these five common chronic conditions can all be treated with medical marijuana or with marijuana and conventional medication. There’s a growing body of research that supports the safety and effectiveness of marijuana for these conditions, and can help even where big pharma fails.

Common pharmaceutical drugs used to treat these conditions have unwanted side effects that can occur even when patients take the wrong dosage, have an allergic reaction to an ingredient used in the drug, when the drugs kill harmful cells AND healthy cells ( which is common in the case of chemotherapy), drug interactions with other drugs (even supplements and foods), and more. Common side effects include constipation or diarrhea, insomnia, nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, and headaches. However, more dangerous side effects can also occur: internal bleeding, abnormal heart rhythms, cancer, and suicidal thoughts, to name a few.

In a 2018 study, researchers analyzed data in the Releaf app, which the study’s authors say is “the largest collection of user input about use and effects of cannabis use in the United States,” they say. There were around 100,000 entries on the site. In one study, they found that users who had one or more of 27 different health conditions with symptoms ranging from depression to seizures experienced a reduction in symptoms from a 2.6 to 4.6 on a scale after using medical marijuana out of 10 reported.

In another study, researchers found that data from the Releaf app showed that 94% of marijuana users diagnosed with numerous health problems reported that marijuana use was effective at reducing the intensity of their symptoms. They also said that marijuana use was not associated with any serious side effects. “If the results found in our studies can be extrapolated to the general population, cannabis could systematically replace the multi-billion dollar drug industry around the world. It probably starts with that,” said study co-author Jacob Vigil.

In a more recent study, researchers in Canada and Italy analyzed the effects of cannabis use in 214 Canadian patients, most of whom were over the age of 50 and had received government authorization to use cannabis products. Researchers analyzed patients’ symptoms and quality of life before and 6 weeks after ingesting cannabis. These patients either had chronic pain, rheumatic diseases, anxiety, sleep disorders or post-traumatic stress.

All patients suffering from chronic pain, sleep disorders, arthritis and post-traumatic stress reported improvements in their symptoms after using cannabis for just 6 weeks. However, they said that cannabis makes them sleepy and gives them dry mouth.

“Consistent with previously published studies, we report that over 60% of the medicinal cannabis cohort reported improvements in their health status,” the authors said. “Overall, we have delivered new real-world evidence to support the use of medicinal cannabis in a range of different conditions, to immediately provide the scientific evidence that healthcare professionals routinely demand of them, and to provide information for future clinical trials that need to generate efficacy and safety data that will ultimately support the development of future regulatory guidelines on the use of medicinal cannabis,” they concluded.

These are just a few of the many studies available demonstrating the effectiveness of marijuana for a range of health conditions. Patients suffering from almost any medical condition can somehow benefit from cannabis use, and there are so many ways you can take it. From smoking to edibles, infused beverages, topicals, patches and more, the possibilities of medicating in a way that benefits you personally are endless. There’s no reason to think that medication is the only choice when you’re struggling with a medical condition. So talk to your doctor today about incorporating cannabis into your treatment.

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