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Cannabis a substitute for opioids? UBC research at odds with McMaster University (Dr. M-J Milloy, UBC)

Mr. M-J Milloy, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) and an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). (Photo credit: BCCSU)
Mr. M-J Milloy, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) and an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). (Photo credit: BCCSU)

People with chronic pain who use cannabis daily are far less likely to use illicit opioids, including fentanyl, a University of B.C. study shows.

The findings, based on self-reports over three years by 1,152 people about their drug use and pain, suggest cannabis might serve as a proxy for illicit opioids. The researchers did the study among marginalized residents of the Downtown Eastside, some of them injection drug users, to see if cannabis might be a potential alternative for opioids in a neighbourhood that’s been hit hard by the overdose epidemic.

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She poured more cold water on the B.C. findings, saying she is somewhat wary of the B.C. study because one of the authors, M-J Milloy, is “supported by a cannabis company” which may bias the study.

Click here to read the full story in The Sudbury Star.

Similar story can be found in the following media outlet: Canada.com