Disagree. As a former opiate addict painkillers are evil incarnate. Even if it's prescribed. They help with pain but they ruin your life even worse. There's not really an alternative as effective however and that says a lot about the nature of medicine as an industry. My cousin was in a horrible accident and will be on opiates for the rest of his life and is a mere outline of the actual person he used to be. I thank God's I don't even believe in that I managed to get help.
Edit - I thought you said the effects of painkillers were a huge plus. My bad.
Marijuana might relieve some of the discomfort of withdrawals but if you're truly addicted it absolutely will not help you get clean on your own. Too many people underestimate the power opiates can have over people. I'm a huge advocate for marijuana but it is not something capable of fixing addiction on its own. I realize by the votes I'm being disagreed with here, but I'm fairly certain it's from people who haven't experienced actual dependence on this shit. That's ok if you don't agree with me. It's my opinion. Only those who have lived through it firsthand can truly understand the absolute hell of addiction. It's why addicts feel so alone. It's impossible to truly relate to it without experiencing it. I smoked weed everyday before, during, and after my 15 years of addiction. It never helped. However, weed is a great alternative to opiates in the first place. It doesn't cause the extreme physical dependence. Which is why it isn't widely offered medically as a solution. Profits in medicine come from treating symptoms, not curing the issue. Plus I missed the original comment and thought he was saying opiates are awesome but he said cannabis. My point remains