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Latest study shows drop in benzodiazepine use by patients given alternative cannabis treatment
Benzodiazepine which goes by the various names such as Xanax and Valium is prescribed to patients suffering from various psychiatric and neurological problems. It helps relieves pain and anxiety among people by calming the nerves of the brain. It also helps people who are suffering from alcohol withdrawal symptoms and seizures. But this drug has various known side effects (https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/benzodiazepine-use-may-raise-risk-alzheimers-disease-201409107397). Some common side effects of this drug are mood changes, muscle weakness, drowsiness, concentration problems and many more. The side-effects worsen with prolong use of the medication.
Canabo Medical Inc. study
Many studies have been conducted to find an alternative treatment to benzodiazepine. One such study was conducted in Canada by the Canabo Medical Inc. Canabo medical Inc. operates in Canada under the name of CMClinics. The details about the study were given by their Dr. Neil Smith. The study included 146 patients suffering from various ailments whowere on a prescription of benzodiazepine. All the patients were prescribed with medical cannabis as a supplemental treatment. The results were extremely promising. In the research industry where the success rate of 10% is also considered good enough, this study showed 40% decline in benzodiazepine use after 90 days. The percentage increased to 45% after 1 year of treatment of medical cannabis.
Specifics of the study
The patients in the study were referred by specialists or physicians. Before starting the supplemental treatment the patients were examined by the doctors of the Canabo medical clinic.Following are the details of the patients included in the study
- The average age of the patients in the study was 48 years.
- 60% patients were female.
- The patients have been unable to perform active work due to their medical condition.
- 60% patients were using benzodiazepine for pain
- 27% were using it for the treatment of a psychiatric condition
- 11% were using benzodiazepine as a treatment for a neurological condition
Throughout the study the patients were examined thoroughly by their respective physicians too.
Implications of the study
Benzodiazepines are many times overused and when combined with alcohol they can become very dangerous. In USA itself prescription drug overdose of 30% is related to benzodiazepines. Despite this more and more people use benzodiazepines daily.
In Canada nearly 1 in every 10 Canadian rely on benzodiazepine for treatment of various medical conditions. The study comes as a huge relief to patients who have been using benzodiazepine for some time now. Perturbed by various side effects of the drugs the patients can look forward to a side effect free treatment of their particular medical condition.
Medical cannabis has been a subject of research for quite some time (https://memory.ucsf.edu/medications-dementia). Its side effect free treatment is finding appeal among researchers, doctors and patients. More and more people now prefer medical cannabis over pharmaceutical drugs. They now use it to treat anxiety disorders, depression and other stress related problems. Though research is still going on, the results till now have been very encouraging. People can now hope for better and safer treatments for their medical conditions.
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