According to a recent report in the Washington Post, and citing a recent study released by Health Affairs, a study fount that in 17 states with a medical marijuana laws in place by 2013, prescriptions for painkillers and other classes of drugs fell sharply.

As we all know Big Pharma has huge intere$t in keeping medicinal marijuana out of the hands of patients nationally. Listening to anecdotal stories from Buddys around the world, most people would rather consume a safe form of cannabis rather than a pill produced in a laboratory from Big Pharma.

Vice News, in a disturbing report from 2014, uncovered numerous examples of ‘leading’ researchers who’ve advocated against legalizing medicinal marijuana as being paid shills of the Big Pharma complex. Time and time again we see these ‘specialists’ quoted in the media from leading educational and research institutions such Harvard and Columbia University, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine extoll the benefits of continued dependence on big pharma products vs. legal marijuana. What is never disclosed is their past participation as paid experts to the largest Pharma companies, some of whom are responsible for the current opioid epidemic we are currently experiencing. Take a moment and read the source article and be the judge for yourself.

It is up to us as cannabis enthusiasts to continue the path to full legalization to reduce the negative impact of Big Pharma on our daily lives. It is not enough to just be an enthusiast but to carry on as activists to ensure that we all as patients are able to choose the right medicine for us with the least amount of negative blowback. This should be based on countless personal experiences and what is thousands of years of evidence that cannabis can better all of our lives.