Elizabeth Warren Urges CDC To Look At Pot As Potential Fix To Prescription Painkiller Epidemic

[n2doc]

American political leaders around the country are casting about for a policy response to the widespread abuse of opioid painkillers that doesn’t replicate the mistakes of past punitive approaches to drug use.

Now, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has thrown her clout into that push for solutions – and in a way that underscores the injustices of the War on Drugs over the past several decades.

Warren is asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to research how medical and recreational marijuana might help alleviate the opioid epidemic. In a letter sent Monday to CDC head Dr. Thomas Friedan, Warren urged the agency to finalize its guidance to physicians on the dos and don’ts of prescribing oxycodone, fentanyl, and other popular drugs in this category.

But she also went further, asking Friedan “to explore every opportunity and tool available to work with states and other federal agencies on ways to tackle the opioid epidemic and collect information about alternative pain relief options.” Those alternatives should include pot, Warren wrote. She went on the ask Friedan to collaborate with other federal health agencies to investigate how medical marijuana is or isn’t working to reduce reliance on highly addictive prescription pills, and to research “the impact of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana on opioid overdose deaths.”

more

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/02/10/3748383/elizabeth-warren-marijuana-opioid-epidemic/

[rurallib]

1. proud to kick and rec

[potone]

2. The voice of reason.

We are just at the beginning of finding out all the potential medical uses of cannabis. More research dollars should be poured into this effort because the few studies that have been done are very promising for a wide range of serious, and even life-threatening medical conditions.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. LIke I needed another reason to love her...

K&R

[scubasteve76]

4. needs to happen more

I need to post in a few threads before I can say hello, but this is great place to start. This is what we need. Politicians understanding that MJ needs to be seriously looked at. My buddy who's a functional alcoholic, I've tried to move him to MJ. I've never missed a day of work being hungover. I'm responsible enough to not get high during work. It actually helps me think, whereas my buddy is getting sloshed out of his mind, I'm relaxing and sorting out my thoughts.......

kudos to Senator Warren.