BUFFALO, NY - A recent study by a local group of researchers found that medical marijuana did reduce pain and opioid use.
The researchers from UB and Rochester, looked at 29 people over a three month span, and found that medical marijuana not only reduced pain, but also opioid use, and improved their quality of life.
Patients suffered from conditions such as spinal tissue damage, cancer, and Parkinson's Disease - all qualifying conditions in the state's medical marijuana program.
They were given medical marijuana capsules to take everyday, and told to take surveys on their progress, and report their side effects. After three months, they still had tenderness, tingling and cramping, but they were less serious than before.
The study's results are a mirror image of what's happened to Lisa Valle's 10-year-old daughter, Maya, who has suffered from epilepsy and neuropathy and started taking medical marijuana three years ago.
"It has really given her life a total 180," Valle said when asked how medical marijuana changed Maya's condition. "When she started taking medical marijuana we immediately saw a difference, like just in her face you could just see the pain almost melt away within 15 minutes."
Lisa says her daughter has stopped taking multiple pain medications, and her epileptic seizures have stopped too.
"She can actually be a human being that enjoys life that experiences things now," Valle said.
Maya loves to read and uses a walker. Her mom says she's made tremendous progress.
"She is gaining more strength all the time," Valle said.
Researchers admit their report was limited, with the small sample size they had to work with. And, they say future studies should pay more attention to side effects. The FDA hasn't approved medical marijuana as a safe form of treatment.
The Department of Health and Human Services has said it's tough to study health effects of medical marijuana because of regulatory barriers.