Does weed help back pain?

Aug. 30, 2010 -- Three puffs a day of cannabis, better known as marijuana, helps people with chronic nerve pain due to injury or surgery feel less pain and sleep better, a Canadian team has found. ''It's been known anecdotally," says researcher Mark Ware, MD, assistant professor of anesthesia and family medicine at McGill University in Montreal. read more

Back pain is the second most common reason for medical visits in America, with sixty five million Americans suffering from some type of back injury. Almost all of the people that I know that have gone in to a doctor’s office or ER for back pain have been prescribed some type of opiate painkiller, which has led to addictions that have ruined some of my friends and family’s lives. read more

Patients with acute pain occurring more than three times in one year or who experience longer episodes of back pain that interfere with daily activities (e.g., sleeping, sitting, standing, walking, bending, riding in or driving a car) are more likely to develop a chronic back condition. read more