For patients with chronic pain-related ailments, medical marijuana could mean relief from persistent, life-altering pain. Whether patients are suffering from chronic pain ailments like fibromyalgia or have pain related to the treatment of another illness like cancer, medicinal cannabis can help improve patients’ quality of life by easing common causes of pain like inflammation. Learn about different types of chronic pain, how pain affects patients’ quality of life, and how medical marijuana is becoming a more prominent treatment for pain across the nation.

How Is Medical Marijuana an Effective Pain Treatment?
Years worth of anecdotal evidence points to the efficacy of marijuana to treat chronic pain conditions. Nowadays, medical and scientific communities are catching up with what many marijuana advocates have known for years.

So, what do the studies say? According to a Harvard-led review of 28 studies of cannabinoids to treat medical and pain issues published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the use of marijuana for chronic pain is supported by quality evidence.

Furthermore, a study from the University of Michigan from March 2016 and published in the Journal of Pain showed that marijuana:
Improved quality of life.
Reduced opioid usage by an average of 64 percent.
Decreased side effects of other medications