Our country is in the middle of an opioid epidemic. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that over 60,000 people died from an opioid overdose. That’s the equivalent of approximately seven people per hour, every hour of the day, and on every day of the year.
Locally, in Wilmington, North Carolina, we were named the number one city in the country for opioid abuse.
Many of the deaths attributed to opioid overdose were from illicit and synthetic drugs. A percentage of those people began taking opiates that were prescribed by his or her physician for legitimate reasons. For one reason or another, the legal prescriptions stopped and some turned to the illicit market to treat pain. A chemical dependence developed.
Physician Selected began as a way to make a difference in our city. We hope that alternative medicine will make a positive impact in patients’ lives. A study by the Journal of the American Medical Association showed a 25% decrease in opioid overdose deaths in states where medical marijuana is legal. The difference between marijuana and hemp is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).