The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first new pain reliever to hit the market in over 20 years. This medication, produced by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc VRTX, is a non-opioid and therefore non-addictive. The new drug, suzetrigine, will be sold under the brand name Journavx.

Unlike opioids, Journavx blocks pain signals in the peripheral nervous system, not in the brain, so it does not create the same pleasurable effects usually felt with opioids and which often leads to dependence or addiction.

"A new non-opioid analgesic therapeutic class for acute pain offers an opportunity to mitigate certain risks associated with using an opioid for pain and provides patients with another treatment option," Dr. Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, acting director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a press release. "This action and the agency's designations to expedite the drug's development and review underscore FDA's commitment to approving safe and effective alternatives to opioids for pain management."

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Government surveys show analgesics, or medications that control pain, are the most commonly prescribed type of drug in hospitals. And, according to the Centers for Disease Control drug overdoses related to opioids, including Fentanyl are among the leading causes of accidental death in the U.S.  

Approximately 125 million opioid prescriptions were dispensed to American patients in 2023 to treat moderate to severe pain, according to the CDC.

Meanwhile, medical marijuana has been doing its part to help treat pain safely and effectively.

Large Study Provides New Insights: It’s About The Side-Effects

One of the largest studies to date, which viewed 90 randomized controlled trials involving 22,028 participants, weighed the pain-alleviating potential of medical marijuana versus opioids. The study was undertaken by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Health Canada.

The research showed opioids and medical marijuana both offer moderate improvements in pain intensity for the treatment of non-cancer pain, which impacts 20% of people around the world and is generally treated with opioids.

The difference is in the side effects. Participants using medical marijuana were found to be far less likely to abandon treatment due to adverse effects as compared to those using opioids. That, in addition to the fact cannabis does not cause respiratory depression which can result from opioid consumption. Marijuana is also not considered to be physically addictive although research contends that regular as well as heavy consumers can develop a psychological dependence on marijuana depending on the individual.

Whereas with opioids, "Anyone taking prescription opioids is at risk for unintentional overdose or death and can become addicted regardless of race, gender, income level, or social class," noted the CDC.

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