Washington: Cannabis can treat both pain and insomnia in people who want to avoid prescription and sleep medications, a study has found. The study, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, looked at 1,000 people taking legalised marijuana in an American state.
Researchers in the US found that among the 65 per cent of people taking cannabis for pain, 80 per cent found it was very or extremely helpful. Eighty-two per cent of these people were able to reduce, or stop taking over the counter pain medications and 88 per cent were able to stop taking opioid painkillers. The study suggested that cannabis could lower opioid use. However, the researchers noted that more needs to be done to understand the potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis.
