re: I was appointed to the AL Council on Opiod Misuse and Addiction (UPDATE #2)

Thanks for undertaking this challenge. I'm in a chronic pain support group and many members have opiod addictions provided for by their doctors. A few have gotten off opiods using both marijuana and kratom but it's more complicated than that with the brain and neurological changes that take place. There's a lot of new research into pain pathways that will be vital to alleviating addictions. Medical marijuana and CBD's do a good job as studies have shown, www.medicalxpress.com, in reducing opiod use but also in reducing other prescription drug use, BP meds, anti-anxiety and anti-depressants. There again it comes back to brain chemistry and it can be bad for some. In a confounding move the DEA has classified CBD's as a schedule 1. You think the DEA and the pharmaceutical companies care about the addiction problem. It's going to take national legislation. Good luck at the state level.