Using medical marijuana appears to help people reduce the use of other medications, including opioids, sleeping aids and antidepressants, according to a new study involving more than 3,500 patients. They also experience far fewer negative side effects after switching to cannabis from prescription drugs.
The results of the survey show that across all medication categories, patients were able to reduce use of other prescription drugs by an average of 84.5 percent after beginning medical cannabis consumption.
More than half the patients (58.9 percent) stopped use of other prescription medications completely.
The study, conducted and published by the medical cannabis and telehealth company Bloomwell, involved an online survey of 3,528 patients in Germany last month.
“Through the use of medical cannabis, patients were able to reduce the use of other prescription medications by an average of 84.5% across all categories.”
It found that 93.4 percent of patients taking prescription sleeping pills were able to reduce their use by at least half after starting medical marijuana, and 75.5 percent were able to quit taking the meds completely.
For methylphenidate, an ADHD medication sold under the name Ritalin, 77.3 percent of medical marijuana patients were able to stop completely.
Sixty-one percent of patients
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