I have a lot of family members and friends that take a number of prescription drugs. They often complain about how prescription drugs make them feel, which can be anything from groggy to shaky and just about anything else in between. I always tell them to try using cannabis as a substitute for some or all of their prescriptions, especially when they are complaining about a lack of sleep, or how sleep aids help them feel.
Some friends and family have taken me up on the offer and I have provided them with butter or edibles, tinctures, and in some cases flower to smoke or vaporize. Not one person has ever came to me after the fact and complained about how marijuana made them feel. Everyone of them has stopped using one or more prescription drugs and started using marijuana regularly as a substitute. ‘I didn’t know it would work that well or I’d have listened to you a long time ago’ is a common expression that I hear.
According to a study out of Canada, which examined why patients use medical marijuana, most patients who participated in the study stated that they used medical marijuana as a substitute for prescription drugs, among other things. Below is an excerpt from the study:
Over 41% state that they use cannabis as a substitute for alcohol (n = 158), 36.1% use cannabis as a substitute for illicit substances (n = 137), and 67.8% use cannabis as a substitute for prescription drugs (n = 259). The three main reasons cited for cannabis-related substitution are “less withdrawal” (67.7%), “fewer side-effects” (60.4%), and “better symptom management” suggesting that many patients may have already identified cannabis as an effective and potentially safer adjunct or alternative to their prescription drug regimen.
Do you use medical cannabis as a substitute for a prescription? If so, what type of prescription, and how is it better than the prescription you were previously using?
