{"componentChunkName":"component---common-build-tags-template-js","path":"/tag/big-pharma/","result":{"data":{"allArticle":{"edges":[{"node":{"id":"Article_2199-markdown","title":"Marijuana Takes on Big Pharma on the Opioid Front","slug":"marijuana-takes-on-big-pharma-on-the-opioid-front","content":"A paper released by the [National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)]( https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/14/how-medical-marijuana-could-literally-save-lives/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.eebc90c829ec) has shown that state-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries have been linked to a decrease in painkiller abuse and opioid overdose-related deaths. The new paper by the NBER collected more extensive data than previous studies on the subject. The paper compared the number of admissions into substance abuse treatment programs and the number of opioid overdose-related deaths between states that do and don’t have medical marijuana. The NBER showed a 15–35% decrease in substance abuse treatment facility admissions in states with legal medical marijuana.\r\n\r\nFOLLOW US ON [FACEBOOK](https://www.facebook.com/pg/hellomdcompany/posts/) & [INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/hellomd_com/?hl=en) \r\n\r\n### Fewer Opioid Deaths in States With Medical Cannabis\r\n\r\nThe NBER paper parallels a _Journal of the American Medical Association_ (JAMA) study that shows a 24.8% decrease in deaths from opioids in states with medical marijuana. JAMA also reported that a survey of 79 studies found that chronic pain patients experienced a 30% or greater improvement in their pain while using cannabis in comparison to the use of a placebo. This information becomes increasingly important with more than 16,000 opioid overdose deaths in the United States in 2013 alone.\r\n\r\nMedical marijuana already proved its prowess as a viable alternative for opioid painkillers because of its ability to quell pain and decrease the epidemic of opioid-related deaths. At HelloMD, we see an increasing trend in patients using cannabis on a regular basis rather than opioids, providing even more anecdotal evidence for the efficacy of medical marijuana to take the place of, or be used in conjunction with, standard pharmaceuticals.\r\n\r\n### Decreasing Opioid Prescriptions in Legal Cannabis States\r\n\r\nThe _Journal of Health Affairs_ has released an even more compelling study out of the University of Georgia that outlines a [direct correlation between the decrease of pharmaceutical use and the increase of cannabis use](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/13/one-striking-chart-shows-why-pharma-companies-are-fighting-legal-marijuana/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nextdraft&utm_term=.18b4b65df8e1). In the 17 states where legalized medical marijuana was put in place by 2013, prescriptions written for painkillers and other medications decreased dramatically. The study found that the average doctor prescribed per year:\r\n\r\n* 265 fewer doses of antidepressants.\r\n* 486 fewer doses of seizure medications.\r\n* 541 fewer doses of anti-anxiety medications.\r\n* 1,826 fewer doses of opioid painkillers. \r\n\r\nThere were also significantly fewer doses written for prescriptions related to nausea, psychosis, sleep disorders and depression. To corroborate that the prescription decreases were tied to medical marijuana, the changes in prescription amounts for conditions that aren’t typically associated with medical marijuana use were also monitored. There was no change in the number of prescriptions of medications such as antibiotics, anti-viral drugs and blood thinners, showing the connection between increased marijuana use and the decrease in prescriptions for medications such as opioids and antidepressants.\r\n\r\n![](https://hellomd-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/578e5cb0687e76000700000c/embedded_images/578e5cb2687e76000700000d/Screen_Shot_2016-07-19_at_9.33.42_AM.png)\r\n \r\n### Big Pharma Fights Back Against the Legalization of Marijuana\r\n\r\nPeople are seeking out marijuana more and more for medicinal use, and pharmaceutical companies are taking notice. Big pharmaceutical companies lobbied the federal government to prevent legislation that may reschedule marijuana (it’s currently listed as a Schedule 1 drug, which means the government considers it to have no medical benefits) or provide an avenue to nationwide medical legalization. \r\n\r\nMultiple companies jumped on the new interest in marijuana by formulating synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which could have the same effects as THC derived from cannabis. At least one pharmaceutical company, after developing a synthetic THC product, wrote to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) expressing its opposition to rescheduling cannabis due to the abuse potential of the plant and extensive growing effort needed to produce an adequate supply. \r\n\r\nRELATED: [OBAMA OPIOIDS SOLUTION MISSING CANNABIS](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/5704127770f200000800000c/obama-opioids-solution-missing-cannabis)\r\n\r\nIt’s not surprising that the pharmaceutical companies are fighting against medical marijuana legalization: $165 million were saved in the 17 medical marijuana states in 2013 due to the decreased number of traditional pharmaceutical prescriptions. \r\n\r\nLastly, the use of medicinal marijuana in legal states may create an estimated annual savings within Medicare of up to a half billion dollars if all 50 states were to allow for marijuana’s medicinal use. What’s clear is that Big Pharma will now do whatever it takes to prevent declassification of cannabis in the federal system and broader legalization.\r\n\r\nIf you’re new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's easy, private and 100% online.  \r\n","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/14b42/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.jpg","srcSet":"/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/f836f/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.jpg 200w,\n/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/2244e/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.jpg 400w,\n/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/14b42/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.jpg 800w,\n/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/47498/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.jpg 1200w,\n/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/54ac5/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.jpg 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/58556/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/61e93/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.webp 200w,\n/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/1f5c5/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.webp 400w,\n/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/58556/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.webp 800w,\n/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/99238/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.webp 1200w,\n/static/f965286a172465f02d677c3168b9d191/5e0b8/a39cf541a7c8c6ce2b397e76b887c5fe.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2064-markdown","title":"Opioid Induced Constipation","slug":"opioid-induced-constipation","content":"OK. Let me get this straight. Patients are prescribed opioids for pain. They then possibly obtain relief from their pain, get sedated and sleepy and subsequently get constipated. The brilliant marketing people at Big Pharma then dreamed up a solution to a problem that they created. They invented the term “Opioid Induced Constipation”!  You might have seen one of their 30-second Superbowl ads this year costing about $5 million dollars. And of course they had a solution. Take another drug! \n\nBig Pharma is far from stupid. Why run an ad if if they couldn’t make money. So of course they have a drug to treat this! Of course the company that ran the ad, Astra Zeneca, dreamed up an oh-so-cute name for their drug. Movantic (get it – mov- like move your bowels) costs about $300 per month. There even is another drug by Salix named Relistor ( relis – like release your bowels I guess) is actually a injection you give yourself and goes for about $400. What a deal.\n\nHere’s a suggestion. STOP TAKING OPIOIDS! There are about 38 million people who are prescribed opioids each year, with some people having monthly refills, resulting in 259 million prescriptions written in 2012. Between 40-80% of these people suffer from opioid induced constipation. So you can imagine the incentive for Big Pharma in creating a drug to treat a side effect of a drug. They benefit from both ends. What does this result in? \n\nHow about 16,000 people dying per year from overdose of opioids. Over 420,000 emergency department visits relating to abuse of narcotic pain relievers. DO you know how to stop this from happening? STOP TAKING OPIOIDS!\n\nThere is a solution. In January 2016 HelloMD perform a [survey of 17,000](https://hellomd.com/articles/download-our-medical-marijuana-patient-study/) of our patients. Of the patients that responded, 34% of all users used it to help with their pain symptoms and 84% found that it helped. Not only that, 0% got constipated! Also, there has NEVER been an overdose from cannabis. Cannabis has been used for thousands of years to help treat painful conditions and has a perfect safety record.\n\nOf course this is not what Big Pharma wants. They would rather get you addicted to opioids and then sell you a drug to treat the side effects. \n\nNice.\n\n[Photo Credit](https://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagobart/5972996750/in/photolist-a6PaQA-dnNWwG-dnNXWj-8QNhPA-pxz9yN-dnNUS3-dnNUjF-dnNZJL-dnNRSp-9Ksu5-daGT9K-nmpHAv-nmpLXj-9htwiK-nmpHJ6-nmpMhh-nmpWgb-nCBEgM-dnNYrC-dnNTPS-bWDGzd-dnNS6a-5k6w6B-5XedgT-tNKKp-dnNQy4-bH1W2F-bH1W2P-bWDDrq-aL1Wx8-pxtDYF-dSuJks-pPJsPT-6iDepy-9KstQ-5LMSH9-8QNhSY-9Ksuv-dJhmNe-diC6gq-dSpaep-bH1W3e-7SwWjA-hSzmZf-dSuJAU-6iDeqq-nDpGhP-dSp9V6-bH1W3p-dSuJiG)","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.5384615384615385,"src":"/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/ee604/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.png","srcSet":"/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/69585/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.png 200w,\n/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/497c6/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.png 400w,\n/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/ee604/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.png 800w,\n/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/c78d4/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.png 1008w","srcWebp":"/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/58556/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/61e93/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.webp 200w,\n/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/1f5c5/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.webp 400w,\n/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/58556/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.webp 800w,\n/static/72238aaab639e906737372dcc728a3c8/b822a/3901cb482fe44d1dd85ea23748833022.webp 1008w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}}]}},"pageContext":{"limit":12,"skip":0,"numPages":1,"currentPage":1,"id":4994,"name":"Big Pharma","slug":"big-pharma","country":"US"}},"staticQueryHashes":["3949754563","4179947113","4202924991"]}