SALT LAKE CITY — Kristen Larsen switched from opioids to medical cannabis to treat a bad back and other injuries she suffered in a car accident.
“The cannabis took the edge off of the pain but also allowed me to feel,” she said in an interview with FOX 13 News. “And after being on opioids for a long time, you’re just kind of numb.”
Larsen said cannabis is much preferred. But lately, she’s had to cut back on her doses. The cost is getting too high. It can cost her as much as $600 a month.
“Just like people have a hard time getting insulin and all of these things, it’s expensive,” she said.”Cannabis is a medicine and it’s expensive. So there are times when I can afford to go into the dispensary and get it. But there are times when I can’t. I just have to be in pain. I have an uncomfortable feeling going to the black market. I just don’t.”
Larsen said she notices a difference in cost, quality and variety of products in cannabis outside Utah. She is not alone. Patient advocacy groups tell FOX 13 News they regularly hear from patients who are still venturing outside the state or