Dr. Jordan Tishler, Emergency Physician and founder of Boston medical marijuana practice Inhale MD, will give a presentation on the subject of Cannabis for Pain Management and Opioid Use Reduction at CannMed 2017 on Tuesday, April 11. Dr. Tishler will be one of more than two dozen speakers presenting at this year’s CannMed Conference (also called the Personalized Cannabinoid Medicine Conference), which is scheduled to take place from April 9 to April 11 at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. Whether you’re a business owner, an investor, a doctor, a pharmacist, or a medical researcher, CannMed 2017 offers informative exhibitions and networking opportunities for everyone in the Cannabis industry.
Cannabis Expert Dr. Jordan Tishler to Speak on Marijuana for Pain Management at CannMed 2017
The news media frequently reports on the “opioid epidemic” taking hold in big cities, rural towns, and suburban communities across the U.S. Unfortunately, unlike most scare-pieces in the news, this one is actually rooted in fact.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over 1,000 people each day are treated in emergency departments for medical problems related to misuse of opioids. The CDC also reported more than 33,000 deaths from opioids in 2015, about half of which involved a prescription drug – typically Vicodin (hydrocodone), OxyContin (oxycodone), or methadone. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid marketed under the brand names Duragesic, Abstral, and Subsys, is another major culprit, particularly when sold illegally.
Some segments of the population are at elevated risk of overdose, namely males, Caucasians, American Indians, and people aged 25 to 54. However, anyone can become addicted, because anyone can experience chronic, debilitating pain.
Reaching across race, age, and gender to afflict millions of Americans from all walks of life, pain is the central, fundamental issue driving our country’s opioid epidemic. But ironically, despite being patients’ most common complaint, pain is also among the least effectively addressed of all medical issues. Physicians often have few options but to prescribe powerful opioid medications, creating a treatment system that can set patients up for disaster. When a patient who is desperate for relief is prescribed opioids, there can be little surprise if this leads to misuse of the medication, or seeking out dangerous substitutes like heroin or Fentanyl.
The bottom line is clear: today in the U.S., there is substantial patient-side demand for opioid painkillers, often with disastrous results. But when tens of thousands of people are dying preventable overdose deaths from prescription medications each year, it is time to reconsider the way we approach pain management. We can accomplish this by placing greater emphasis on safer alternatives, both from a research and patient education standpoint; but in order for this to work, alternative or additional patient options must be both effective and safer than opioids.
One option that fits this description — which Dr. Tishler will be discussing in detail during his presentation at CannMed on April 11 — is to more aggressively and extensively incorporate Cannabis into pain patients’ care plans.
Causing a total of zero overdose deaths this or any other year, not only does Cannabis have a dramatically superior safety profile when compared to OxyContin and other opioids, it is also uniquely valuable in that it can be added to a patient’s existing treatment regimen without negating the effects of their other medications, creating dangerous drug interactions, or, in most cases, exposing the patient to a risk of harmful long-term side effects. Add to these positive attributes marijuana’s profound and well-documented efficacy as an analgesic for a wide variety of conditions, and you can see why Cannabis research is so critical to the future of pain management in the U.S. healthcare system.
The incorporation of Cannabis into care plans frequently reduces the patient’s reliance on opioids. In turn, this reduces the patient’s risk of having a fatal overdose, or suffering other adverse effects associated with opioid abuse, which can include debilitating seizures, kidney failure, nerve damage, and neurological complications. Because Cannabis is fast-acting, gentle, effective, and typically free of serious long-term side effects, many patients find they are eventually able to omit opioids completely, of course under the care and supervision of a physician.
Register to Attend CannMed 2017 in Boston (Personalized Cannabinoid Medicine Conference)
Now in its second year after debuting in 2016, the Personalized Cannabinoid Medicine Conference is a major industry event for any person who takes an interest in the future of Cannabis commerce, research, healthcare, or legislation, including pain patients and their loved ones. If you have any availability from April 9 to April 11, you’re encouraged to attend at least one day of the conference and explore the numerous exhibitions and presentations that will be on display.
Guest rate registration has already sold out, so don’t wait until it’s too late to purchase your ticket. You can register online through CannMed 2017’s official website, where you’ll find several different rates available for patients and non-profits, healthcare professionals, clinical providers, and other industry members. The CannMed Conference has already been featured on PBS, NBC News, and VICE, and is only expected to continue growing.
If you’re interested in medical marijuana for pain, or if you are a business owner who is seeking a Cannabis consultant or guest speaker for your corporate event, contact Inhale MD at (617) 477-8886. As a medical marijuana doctor, Dr. Jordan Tishler provides patient care for Massachusetts residents age 21 or older, and advises businesses of all sizes as one of the leading Cannabis therapy experts in Boston.