HHS Secretary against using medical marijuana as alternative to opioid for treating pain

In a visit to the Dayton, Ohio area, HHS Secretary Alex Azar was asked by Yellow Spring News what role he’d envision for medical marijuana as an alternative to prescription opioids for pain relief.

“I would want to emphasize first that there really is no such thing as medical marijuana,” Azar said. “We have treatments that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration that are safe, that are proven to be safe and effective for pain, safe and effective for other conditions.”

He later added: “There is no FDA approved use of marijuana, a botanical plant.”

A recent study in the American Journal of Public Health found after legalization of marijuana in Colorado, opioid-related deaths dropped by 6.5 percent. An earlier study found the availability of medical marijuana in states between 2010 and 2013 changed prescribing patterns among Medicare Part D beneficiaries, especially on pain, with 1,826 fewer daily doses filled annually per physician. Overall, Medicare Part D spending in those states fell by a combined $165.2 million in 2013, but the drug remains classified as having no accepted medical use by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Azar did indicate his agency wants to expand use of non-opioid pain treatments.

“Over $750 million just in 2019 alone is going to be dedicated to the National Institutes of Health working in a public-private partnership to try developing the next generations of pain therapies that are not opioids, as well as to develop the best evidence around alternative ways of treating pain that do not involve opioids,” Azar said. “So that’s where our focus is.”

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