There is no doubt that medical marijuana helps to improve the quality of life for people suffering serious, debilitating, life-threatening conditions such as Cancer, HIV/AIDS, PTSD and Epilepsy. Anecdotal evidence is everywhere, and scientific, research-based evidence is beginning to make its way into the public conscience.

Unbeknownst to many potential patients is that medical marijuana can be used to treat chronic pain. Chronic pain is a catch all term and qualifying condition for many different ailments that result in agony, aching and hurt. Migraines and arthritic conditions, residual pain from surgeries or accidents, lime disease, lupus and TMJ are just a few examples that fall under the umbrella of chronic pain. In some states having a prescription for opiates alone qualifies individuals to become MMJ patients.

We are in a new era of healthcare. One where a wider audience is beginning to experiment with holistic and natural approaches to medicine and eschewing poisonous pharmaceutical drugs that have become a continual source of public health and safety issues across the country. For every Health Ledger, Michael Jackson or Prince, there are thousands of regular people losing their lives to opiate abuse and addiction.

Routinely, those drugs are prescribed to help deal with a painful condition. Pain management through opiate use is a slippery slope. Tolerances can build up while prescriptions run out. Dependency on opiates often occurs and individuals are required to find supply of medicine by any means necessary which leads to many precarious situations.

The time has come to embrace the change and move forward no longer tethered to the pharmaceutical industry. Replacing opiates with marijuana is smart, safe and responsible. Marijuana is non-addictive and non-lethal. It has been used in pharmacopeia outside of the western civilization for millennia and will continue to help those who choose to use it no matter what condition they are treating.