5 Reasons Chronic Pain Patients Cite for Using Medical Cannabis

Chronic pain is one of the most common conditions medical cannabis users point to when explaining why they use the drug. In fact, pain is the most-cited condition in many states with legal medical cannabis programs. Such is the case in Utah, for example.

Knowing that, it is easy to assume that a chronic pain patient visiting the Beehive Farmacy medical cannabis pharmacy in Salt Lake City just wants to get stoned so that he doesn’t feel any more pain. But nothing could be further from the truth.

I just finished reading a fascinating post published on the NuggMd website. A large portion of the text consisted of written statements by actual patients explaining why they turned to medical cannabis. All of them are chronic pain patients. Understanding about their reasons sheds a whole new light on things.

1. Bad Reactions to Other Medications

First up – and these reasons are not listed in any particular order – is a bad reaction to other medications. One patient wrote about reacting badly to opioids and anti-anxiety medications. This person apparently has a tendency toward vomiting and stomach pain. Making the switch to medical cannabis changed everything.

As a person who experiences adverse reactions to a particular antibiotic, I get it. If I ever need to see my doctor for an antibiotic prescription, I make absolutely sure she does not prescribe this particular drug. If she does, I simply will not take it.

2. A Better Quality of Life

Another patient wrote about how over the counter (OTC) pain medications barely made daily life tolerable. The patient struggled with quality-of-life issues, which is common among chronic pain patients who have both good and bad days. In addition, the patient was nervous about taking OTC medications permanently.

Switching to medical cannabis made a significant difference. The patient says that cannabis numbs the pain and improves quality of life. There are fewer worries about the long-term side effects compared to what we know about drugs like ibuprofen and aspirin.

3. OTC Drug Side Effects

Speaking of OTC pain medications, another patient expressed what so many others think: that long term use of certain OTC drugs can do irreparable damage to the digestive system. Remember, these are just patient thoughts rather than scientifically proven ideas. Yet reading the warning labels on some OTC pain medications can make one wonder about long term side effects.

At any rate, this particular patient would rather take their chances with medical cannabis. The potential side effects of long-term OTC pain medication use just isn’t worth it.

4. How Prescription Medications Make Them Feel

Having taken prescription pain medications myself, I can understand the next reason offered in the post: users do not like how prescription medications make them feel. One patient wrote about feeling consistent brain fog as a result of taking opioids. That’s actually a pretty common reaction, and one that people don’t like. Medical cannabis can produce the same kinds of feelings if taken in a large enough dose, but it is possible to experience significant pain relief with just a small dose.

5. The Belief That It’s More Natural

Finally, another patient voiced support for medical cannabis based on the belief that it is a more natural way to deal with pain. This particular patient isn’t interested in using man-made chemicals to feel better.

There are other reasons chronic pain patients choose to treat with medical cannabis. But these five give you a good idea of the general mindset. Believe it or not, pain patients do think things through when choosing medical cannabis.