Why Cannabis is a Safe Alternative

If you have been driving around in any state that has legalized cannabis dispensaries, you probably are familiar with all of the billboards that support and advertise medical marijuana. It is really not uncommon to see billboards from more than one company offering their cannabis products and services. You may also be familiar with an advertisement that says “less risk, more relief”. While you may not really think about the benefit of lower risk when it comes to using cannabis, this can be a huge reason that a lot of medical marijuana patients have applied for their card. The reality about marijuana is that, generally, it is much safer and more natural than a lot of prescription medications and treatment options that exist in our medical world today. 

Marijuana is inherently less dangerous than medications like opioids, which are steadily becoming the most dangerous form of prescription in the entire world. Did you know that opioids related deaths increased over the past few years? While the fight to end the opioid epidemic had some sway, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a lot of that progress to be lost. When it comes to prescription opioids, a lot of people are using them for managing pain and other such conditions. The CDC’s recent data has shown that synthetic opioids on the black market today are more likely to contain harmful chemicals like fentanyl. Guess how many milligrams of fentanyl is enough to kill a person? Shockingly, it is just about 2 milligrams. That is why marijuana can make some really good changes to our medical world and how doctors prescribe for pain relief. 

So how can there be no risk with using marijuana? Isn’t it a drug? After all, it was an illegal drug for so long - there has to be something dangerous about it. Well, you may be surprised to find out that there has never been a recorded case of someone dying from a marijuana overdose. There have even been tests done on animals back in the 1970s to see how much THC would be enough to kill something, and the scientists found that all the monkeys survived. When it comes to marijuana in its natural form, it is basically impossible to overdose. It is a very naturally safe drug and one that does not really cause harm when used properly. What if people were able to turn to using marijuana instead of prescription opioids? How is it that marijuana has been made illegal, why companies continue to shill out new synthetic medications that kill more people every year. 

It is honestly a tragedy. Moreover, smoking weed is even less dangerous than drinking alcohol, which is also completely legal in the United States. Did you know that the CDC reported excessive drinking of alcohol as one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States? It is really a shame that weed has gotten such a bad reputation for so long. While marijuana is generally much safer than opioids and alcohol, it does not exist without some potential risks as well. Some of the ones that you should know about include developing a dependency or addiction. Like any drug or medication that alters one's mood or behavior, there is always that risk of getting addicted to marijuana. If you are someone that gets addicted to things really easily, maybe consider this risk before you start using weed regularly. Another risk is decrease in brain development of young adults and teens, which has become a very big stigma among the anti-cannabis communities in our nation.