In most cases chronic pain is usually pain that has persisted for at least 3 months. Majority of the time it’s treated with opioids. When used appropriately opioidscan be very effective. They help maintain the pain. There is also an option for a long acting opioid that can be used for pain that last all day. Even though opioidscan be effective about 21-29 percent of people prescribedthem misuse them.Meaning they become addicted to them. They can also be very sedative and some people may build a tolerance to them. In 2017 47,000 people died because of opioid overdose and 1.7 million people developed substanceuse disorders from prescription opioids.

Another option for treating chronic pain is medical marijuana. Said to be safer than opioids, because it is nearly impossible to overdose on it and much less addictive. Patients have stated that they don’t feel completely out of it and can resume normal activities when consuming medical marijuana. It can take the place of NSAIDS for people who can’t take them due to problems with their kidneys, uulcersor GERD. Medical marijuana can also help with the other symptoms that come along with chronic pain such as insomnia, anxiety and depression. To avoid the risk of smoking it, you can ingest it orally or through vaporization. Just like opioidsthough, you can build a toleranceto it.

From the information I have gathered, I believe medical marijuana to be the better option of the two. There are a lot more benefits to it than there is to opioids. The cons to opioid use definitelyoutweigh the cons to medical marijuana.

References

American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. (n.d.). Treatment options for chronic pain. Retrieved from https://www.asra.com/page/46/treatment-options-for-chronic-pain#:~:text=Opioids: When used appropriately, opioids,acting opioid is usually recommended.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2020, June 10). Opioid Overdose Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis

Peter Grinspoon, M. (2020, April 15). Medical marijuana. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/medical-marijuana-2018011513085

Admin, A. T. (2018, September 27). Pros and Cons of Using Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain. Retrieved from https://indicamd.com/pros-and-cons-of-using-medical-marijuana-for-chronic-pain/