Study Finds Illinois Patients Prefer Marijuana Over Opioids

The first peer-reviewed study in Illinois found that patients prefer medical marijuana over opioids. Thirty patients were interviewed for the study. The four health conditions among those interviewed were cancer, Crohn’s disease, spinal cord injury/disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Professor at DePaul University, Douglas Bruce, indicated that several patients use medical marijuana to “counter-measure against opioid-based pain drugs,” according to Illinois News Network. Patients expressed worry regarding dependence, risk of overdose and toxicity. This study is small-scale, but a much larger study is already underway.

Bruce said, “Patients described to us three types of approaches to using medical cannabis,” he said. “One, as a complementary approach, one as a tapering method of getting off of prescription drugs, and one as an alternative approach without using prescription drugs at all.”

Bruce is working through over 400 responses from medical marijuana patients across Illinois for a larger perspective.

The Workers Compensation Research Institute reported that about 62-percent of injured worker complaints involve the prescribing of painkillers, including opioids.