St. Francis Hospital to test marijuana as possible substitute for opioids

Physicians at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., will soon begin testing marijuana's efficacy for pain control among patients with rib fractures.

According to The CT Mirror, the study will be the first research on medical marijuana sanctioned by Connecticut. However, the state's blessing does not come with fiscal support, so St. Francis physicians are bankrolling the $30,000 to $50,000 study themselves via donations to a medical research fund. Researchers hope the results show marijuana's potential to help reduce reliance on opioids for pain treatment.

"You really don't have a ton of options. You have opiates," said James Feeney, MD, a surgeon and director of trauma services at St. Francis, according to the Mirror. "People say there are alternatives. Yeah, there are. They're not good. They don't work. So we're kind of over a barrel."

The study will reportedly enroll 60 rib fracture patients. Thirty will be given marijuana for pain management and 30 will be administered traditional opioid pain medication. Dr. Feeney suspects it will take six months to enroll patients. He and his colleagues have expressed optimism on the study's potential.

"Hopefully we will start the beginning of the end of the opiate addiction epidemic," said Dr. Feeney, according to the Mirror.

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