Over the counter pain medications are not without risk.
The most commonly prescribed OTC NSAIDS have been found to significantly increase the odds of heart attack. This can occur within a month or less if high doses are ingested. Not only did researchers find that they were associated with risk of heart attack, but that over 90% of th pain killers assessed were associated with that increased risk finding that risk was about 20-50% higher in NSAID users. Apart for increased risk of heart attack, ibuprofen was associated with a threefold increased risk of stroke. One study found that ibuprofen can increase the risk of cardiac arrest by 31%.
Prescription pain management is dangerous as well. Opioid analgesics commonly used to combat pain can cause psychological and physical dependence, constipation, dizziness, light headedness, mood changes nausea, sedation, shortness of breath or vomiting. High doses, or adding alcohol to the mix can even be fatal.
How can pain be combated safely when even something as seemingly harmless as ibuprofen vastly increases heart attack risk? Cannabis sativa exhibits significant pain release by blocking the nerve pathways COX-1 and COX-2 which form the basis of common pain reactions. Cannabis has no known toxicities other than possible sleepiness.
Cannabis has served as an analgesic for about 5,000 years. Today, patients report significant pain relief in cases where even conventional therapies have failed and can be useful for patients suffering with chronic pain due to a variety of conditions. Chronic pain is a major public health crisis.
Uses for CBD - Medical Cannabis
Gorter, R., MD, PhD. (2018, November). Underappreciated Risks in Pain Management. Townsend, (424), 64-66.