Medical marijuana has always been considered a painkiller, because of its psychoactive properties, and the fact that it binds with cannabinoid receptors, which are directly related to mind coordination.  New studies are always taking place, suggesting its efficacy as a clinical drug.

Pain Killing Studies

One study comes from The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at UC-San Diego, who surveyed 200 people from five test groups, comparing the effects of medical marijuana to synthetic pain killers.  Director Dr. Igor Grant stated, “We focused on illnesses where current medical treatment does not provide adequate relief or coverage of symptoms.”  The doctor stated, “The efficacy of cannabis was comparable to that of traditional agents, somewhat less than that of the tricyclics, but better than SSRIs and anticonvulsants, and comparable to gabapentin.”

Marijuana Far Less Dangerous Than Synthetic Drugs

Another “scientific” fact, or statistical at least, is that the overdose of medical cannabis (or even recreational cannabis) has never been linked to a person’s death.  In contrast, deaths related to the abuse or in some cases regular usage of painkilling drugs have been prevalent.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that over 15,000 deaths were reported in 2008 from legal prescription painkillers.  This makes the death toll much higher than even the overdose deaths connected to street drugs.   The National Institute of Mental Health, while not exactly marijuana advocate, did state “There are virtually no reports of fatal cannabis overdose in humans.”

Since medical marijuana is an effective pain remedy, and can be administered in a variety of ways including topical and through edibles, it is largely considered a more effective treatment for chronic pain than other synthetic drugs—at least by the medical community that has done the research and left their prejudices at the door.