HelloMD’s co-founder Pamela Hadfield is featured in a NowThis op-ed video, “Medical Cannabis Could Help Solve the Opioid Crisis.” In the video, she shares how cannabis helped prevent the migraines that plagued her for 25 years. And she talks about how marijuana helped eliminate her consumption of opioids—for good.
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This experience led her to start HelloMD, where she has seen firsthand how many people suffer from chronic pain and how that chronic pain often results in opioid addiction. She believes cannabis may be the exit drug to a nationwide epidemic of opioid abuse.
In the op-ed video interview Hadfield cites:
“The National Academy of Science published that adults with chronic pain are more likely to experience clinically significant levels of pain reduction when treated with cannabis or cannabinoids. What’s more is when people are given free access to medical marijuana and legal states, prescription rates of opioids go down by about 25 percent overall use of opioids go down and drug related deaths go down. In other words, a lot less people die.”
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She also talks about the benefit of incorporating cannabis into pain management and how cannabis has allowed others to reduce and/or eliminate their opioid consumption.
“HelloMD recently did a study in conjunction with UC Berkeley with over 3,000 of our patients. It’s the largest study done to date on chronic pain, opioids and cannabis.
“Ninety seven percent of patients agree that they were able to decrease their opioid use when cannabis was introduced into the medication regime. And 81% agreed that cannabis was more effective than opioids when used for chronic pain. The bottom line: Cannabis should be considered a viable option by all doctors for pain management before an opioid is ever prescribed. Before the addiction cycle even has a chance to take root.
“And one of the best parts: No one has ever died from consuming cannabis.”
NowThis, a website and media company, was founded by two former executives from the Huffington Post, and has become a go-to news source for those typically between the ages of 18–34.
If you’re new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our Cannabis 101 post. HelloMD can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it’s easy, private and 100% online.
