Given Choice, Patients Will Choose Cannabis Over Prescribed Opioids
I was 8 hours from heading to the airport for a family trip to Amsterdam last summer when I burned the heck out of the fingers of my right (dominant) hand. It was probably the most pain I had ever been in, even including a compound fracture of the clavicle that involved 8 screws and a metal bar to repair. The latter caused me to get addicted (unknowningly) to opioids (hydrocodone) which led to a miserable week of withdrawl symptoms. I didn't take any opioids a year later after the surgery to remove all that hardware.<p>I told the doctors at the hospital I didn't want to get addicted again, so they gave me Tramadol.<p>I made it to Amsterdam and, that night, I finally gave in and took one of the Tramadols. It put me through a loop and wringer, but took away the pain and let me sleep through the night mostly.<p>The next day, my wife came back to our place with a "space muffin", or pot-laced chocolate brownie thing. I had never had any edibles before. That night, I figured, what the heck, they're always talking about medical uses so I ate it.<p>I have never been so surprised at something anecdotal in my life.<p>The pain was gone just as well as the night before with Tramadol. Furthermore, although the edible definitely was psychoactive, I was much more functional and less out of it than the single Tramadol I took, and felt much better the next day - not hung over.<p>I became a strong medical marijuana advocate that night.<p>Damn shame we don't have this available in my home state in the USA. Damn shame we have a moron of a President who loves states rights except when he doesn't (most of the time?). Damn shame we have a war on drugs. <sigh>