The LEAF March/April 2016 | Page 24

Big Pharma Not H appy: 80% of Cannabis Users Give Up Prescription Drugs T he results of a recent survey conducted by the Centre for A ddictions Research of B C must be seriously wor rying big Pharma The pharmaceutical (along with the alcohol) industry is a powerful influence in Washington and has long been lobbying against cannabis legalisation in order to protect their profits. However, the tide has turned as decriminalisation of medical cannabis sweeps the nation and the continent. With more and more people discovering how this plant can provide a safe alternative to the dangerous effects of prescription pills. The survey of 473 adult therapeutic cannabis users found that 87% of respondents gave up prescription medications, alcohol, or other drugs in favour of cannabis. Adults under 40 were likely to give up all three of these for medicinal cannabis The most startling revelation, and one that will have Big Pharma running to their crony lawmakers, is that 80% of respond [