WELCOME TO
ARKANSAS MEDICAL CANNABIS NETWORK
AMCN was founded with the belief that both patients and physicians need better options to help patients control chronic and debilitating conditions.
AMCN providers realize that the medical community’s stance on medicinal use of cannabis and THC is evolving. More and more research is showing that use of marijuana as medicine has proven therapeutic benefits. The analgesic effect of marijuana as an alternative or adjunct to opioid is compelling. Additional exploration of cannabis as medicine, via research and legal use, will only further increase the acceptance and adoption of cannabis as a legitimate clinical course of therapy.
According to emerging research, there is evidence of significant opioid reduction in chronic pain patients when given access to cannabis. “Up to 90% of patients in state-level medical cannabis registries list chronic pain as their qualifying condition for the medical program. In an exhaustive review, the National Academies of Science and Medicine recently confirmed the efficacy of cannabis for chronic pain in adults. Interestingly, when given access to cannabis, individuals currently using opioids for chronic pain decrease their use of opioids by 40–60% and report that they prefer cannabis to opioids. Patients in these studies reported fewer side effects with cannabis than with their opioid medications (including a paradoxical improvement in cognitive function) and a better quality of life with cannabis use, compared to opioids. Despite the vast array of cannabis products and administration routes used by patients in states with medical cannabis laws, cannabis has been consistently shown to reduce the opioid dose needed to achieve desirable pain relief.”
We encourage our patients to explore the available research and to form their own educated opinion regarding medicinal use of cannabis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6135562/
https://badgut.org/information-centre/a-z-digestive-topics/cannabis/
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: the current state of evidence and recommendations for research. National Academies Press: Washington, DC, 2017
- Boehnke KF, Litinas E, Clauw DJ. Medical cannabis use is associated with decreased opiate medication use in a retrospective cross-sectional survey of patients with chronic pain. J Pain. 2016;17:739–744
- Gruber SA, Sagar KA, Dahlgren MK, et al. Splendor in the grass? A pilot study assessing the impact of medical marijuana on executive function. Front Pharmacol. 2016;7:355.
- Wiese B, Wilson-Poe AR (2018) Emerging evidence for cannabis’ role in opioid use disorder, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 3:1, 179–189, DOI: 10.1089/can.2018.0022.
