It was an honor to have the opportunity to present a TEDx talk about the opioid crisis, and how there is a solution to a potential 60% reduction in death by opioids. There are some roadblocks, and you can guess where some of the biggest objections are from. Big pharma is more interested in profits than curbing the national crisis.
The following are some excerpts from my 6 first articles and research on the opioid epidemic.
In 2018, we had 2 million people clinically addicted to opioids in the United States. However, because there’s very few clinically or socially acceptable alternatives that number went from 2 million in 2018 to 3 million in 2022. I’ll do the math for you that’s 21,000 people added to the addicted list each month, every month for four years.
Dr. Matt Chalmers If you think that’s about our Death numbers are even worse. In 2019, we lost 50,000 people to Opioid Overdose, or in 2020 we lost 70,000 people to
opioid overdose that’s 140% increase in one year.
I have been studying this plague and researching how we can turn this plague into simply a memory. It was truly an honor to be on the TEDx stage talking about the epidemic, and more importantly bringing solutions to the forefront.
Check out the full talk from the TEDxUCincinnati YouTube Channel
Also, please take a look at my other 6 articles on this topic in the last several months below.
What is the difference between opioids and cannabis? You would be surprised what the research shows.
What is the psychological stance on using cannabis for pain relief?
Research matters in discussions around cannabis, and medical uses. What do you think?
What do you think about cannabis? Well, my opinions have changed through additional research.
Addressing opioid addiction is a huge issue in the United States, and together we can make a difference.
Check out Chalmers Pillarsofwellness.com for Wellness updates! And ask me any questions you have at questions@chalmerswellness.com. I answer all of them and look forward to hearing from you.
The Chalmers Wellness Stubstack just launched. Comment, Like, and Interact with other people on their wellness journey. Communities can make a difference. DrChalmers.substack.com
Dr. Matt Chalmers
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. Before taking any action based on this information you should first consult with your physician or health care provider. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions regarding a medical condition, your health, or wellness.
Additional resources and references:
How medical cannabis could reduce pain Matt Chalmers TEDxUCincinnatiHighlights of the Ted Talk
00:00 – Intro
00:36 – Statistics from the Center for Disease Control or the CDC
01:24 – Opioids are the most addictive substances we have available to us medically for pain
01:48 – Dr Matt Chalmers experience with Opioid Medication
03:08 – Cannabis is the solution to our Opioid Epidemic
04:12 – One of the ways that Cannabis is substantially healthier for us and better than opioids is the way that actually works in the brain05:22 – Cannabis the higher the Euphoria from Cannabis, makes it unusable for daily life
05:56 – It’s impossible to Dose Cannabis
06:17 – Sublingual Strips are extremely doseable
06:43 – Cannabis Produces Substantial unwanted Psychological effects create anxiety and things like that
07:10 – Amygdala holds all the bad things about mankind Fear, Hate, Anger, Terror, Anxiety
07:52 – My ten year old son had have surgery to remove a plate and six screws from his arm
08:56 – The Research is showing that states that legalize Cannabis see a 24% drop in Opioid Overdose Deaths the first year after legalization
09:32 – Our society cannot sustain the levels of Addiction and Death we are currently allowing
10:25 – Outro
Automated Transcript: May have edits for grammar and not content. Please refer to the TEDxUCincinnati YouTube video for content.
Shows via MRI that CBR1 in the amygdala (attenuate) suppress anger and fear. Thus, decreasing anxiety
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2657360/
Same study different write up. Shows suppression of BL amygdala
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4360235/
Again referencing the same study same conclusion
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841401/
Showed that baso-lateral specifically R lateral activation of the amygdala helped suppress the feelings of pain and thus decreased the reported subjective pain felt.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3549497/
Activating the 5 HT1 receptors in the BLA can suppress the learned failure response and thus reduce future anxiety. Viewing anxiety as perceived failure (conditioned defeat) in the future that holds fear now as if you are living in the failure at the moment. The 5 HT1 receptors help increase serotonin levels to the cleft.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3242817/
More on 5 HT1 receptors
Showing that Delta 8 is just as effective with less side effects as medications already on the market.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34797727/
Cannabis
Showing that cannabis greatly reduced pain and the only real issue was cost and stigma. Reduced opioid use by 64% with a 17% reduction in opioid fatalities.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK574562/ (5)
Many of the studies showing negative effects of cannabis on pain were set up to fail. Cannabis has been shown to be better than codeine
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK224384/
Pretty solid overview of how the receptors CBR1 work and where they are. The evidence that CBR1 is almost entirely inhibitory to neuronal tissue is pretty apparent. This widespread systemic placement of ligand based and cytoplastic receptor function that again is inhibitory shows a cannabinoid specific and dose dependent functionality of cannabis all over the body save the upper brainstem where the breathing center is. Activation of CBR1 greatly reduces excitotoxicity and reduces glutamate which by itself could stop seizure activity.
This also demonstrates significant protection against oxygen deprivation and reperfusion so the benefit to concussion and all oxygen deprivation function like epilepsy, and Parkinson’s where oxygen deprivation is a significant issue especially from sleep apnea issues.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5877694/
Showing that the medulla has a low amount of CB1 receptors
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2826.2008.01671.x (6)
Opioid issues:
https://www.addictionresource.net/opioids/overdose-deaths/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35105535/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553166/
Nearly 70k deaths in 2020
https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/index.html (2)
Death rate of 2019 just under 50k
https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2020-07-16-cdc-drug-overdose-deaths-46-2019 (1)
More info government numbers
https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/opioid-crisis-statistics/index.html
More death numbers with graphs and age delineation
https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates
Estimated 2 million Americans are addicted to opioids 2018
https://psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/nearly-one-in-three-people-know-someone-addicted-t (3)
Nearly 3 million Americans addicted in 2022
Opioid receptors in the pons:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22747535/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3545180/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2642894/
Opioid vs cannabis overdose
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6135562/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4392651/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33367882/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5563007/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4392651/
Deaths from cannabis
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32370933/
Many of these studies look like they are trying to blame cannabis. The sidney study showed that of men with Aids that smoke cannabis they still died of Aids. They are somehow trying to tie the cannabis to Aids deaths its from 1997.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425742/
Also many of the deaths that are attributed to cannabis are not solely or even closely related to cannabis. Many of them are motor vehicle accidents, most 47% had high levels of alcohol, and many of the deaths were suicide, while still others had other drugs in the system. It is very hard to find cannabis deaths where only cannabis was involved.
Cannabis and blood pressure
This area of research is very odd as there is evidence that cannabis lowers blood pressure when they gave it to people that already had high blood pressure. However, from a we looked at people that used cannabis and we saw higher blood pressure they also mention that the people in the study also used a lot more alcohol. I lean on the study where they already had the BP issue and cannabis helped. Again the mixing of other substances, drugs or alcohol, makes many of these studies useless.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237375/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33483174/
Reducing the amount of opioids via coadministration of cannabis shows promise
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6135562/
Anxiety and cannabis
Shows that cannabis is a solid choice for anxiety from a prescription point.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7531079/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8458732/
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How medical cannabis could reduce pain Matt Chalmers TEDxUCincinnatiHighlights of the Ted Talk
00:00 – Intro
00:36 – Statistics from the Center for Disease Control or the CDC
01:24 – Opioids are the most addictive substances we have available to us medically for pain
01:48 – Dr Matt Chalmers experience with Opioid Medication
03:08 – Cannabis is the solution to our Opioid Epidemic
04:12 – One of the ways that Cannabis is substantially healthier for us and better than opioids is the way that actually works in the brain05:22 – Cannabis the higher the Euphoria from Cannabis, makes it unusable for daily life
05:56 – It’s impossible to Dose Cannabis
06:17 – Sublingual Strips are extremely doseable
06:43 – Cannabis Produces Substantial unwanted Psychological effects create anxiety and things like that
07:10 – Amygdala holds all the bad things about mankind Fear, Hate, Anger, Terror, Anxiety
07:52 – My ten year old son had have surgery to remove a plate and six screws from his arm
08:56 – The Research is showing that states that legalize Cannabis see a 24% drop in Opioid Overdose Deaths the first year after legalization
09:32 – Our society cannot sustain the levels of Addiction and Death we are currently allowing
10:25 – Outro
Automated Transcript: May have edits for grammar and not content. Please refer to the TEDxUCincinnati YouTube video for content.
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