TIMES UNION: VIREO HEALTH SEES REPLACING OPIOIDS WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA

A medical marijuana company operating in Minnesota and New York is proposing cannabis as a potential way to wean Americans off narcotic painkillers.

Vireo Health has issued a “draft protocol” — a working paper for others to improve — laying out a potential method for doctors to replace opioids prescribed for pain with medical marijuana. The suggestion comes amid a national epidemic of opioid abuse and deaths from overdoses. It is also consistent with what Vireo sees some of its patients already doing to reduce their opioid use, according to Stephen Dahmer, chief medical officer of Vireo Health of New York.