An increasing number of people in Florida are choosing medical cannabis over opioids to treat pain relief, according to the boss of the state's first and largest fully licensed medical marijuana company.

"We're seeing a huge transition," Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (TCNNF), told CNBC in an interview. "That's actually one of our initiatives in front of the [Florida state] legislature this upcoming session, to introduce policies to say instead of only having opioids as an alternative, why not medical cannabis?"

Trulieve, which last month completed a merger with a Canadian mining company and began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), cultivates, manufactures and distributes 90 cannabis-based products in 17 retail locations across the state of Florida. The company’s formulas use little THC and CBD, marijuana's main active compounds, for "non-euphoric" remedies that help treat conditions including seizures, cancer and AIDS. The company's shares have soared 80% since it went public.

According to Rivers, recent studies show that medical cannabis programs are reducing the number of prescriptions for drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and morphine. Tests, she added, prove that marijuana is a “much safer and effective alternative” to opioids, which according to the Chicago Tribune were responsible for 70,000 deaths in the U.S. last year, 40% of which were linked to legal variations of the drug.

"There have been a number of recent studies that have come out that have shown that in states where medical cannabis programs are robust, the number of opioid prescriptions reduces dramatically," the CEO said. “We also know from just first-hand true stories, which we have on our website every Tuesday, that a number of our patients are transitioning from opioids to medical cannabis very effectively and it's a much safer and effective alternative.”

This is an oft-repeated refrain from producers in the cannabis industry as they target the health care space. Canopy Growth Corp. (CGC) CEO Bruce Linton told CNBC in May that cannabis is "a huge disruptor to the opioid guys."

Only a handful of studies have so far surfaced to substantiate Rivers’ claims. One survey, covering 500 patients using marijuana for medical purposes in Canada, discovered that 80% substituted cannabis for prescription drugs, the Chicago Tribune reported. Other than that, evidence is generally lacking. (See also: 5 Most Popular Ways to Consume Cannabis.)

Last year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found evidence that patients using cannabis were more likely to experience a “significant” reduction in pain. The review, one of the most comprehensive yet, discovered that marijuana helped reduce muscle spasms for people suffering with multiple sclerosis and reduced nausea and vomiting in some cancer patients during chemotherapy.

Studies of a connection between cannabis use and an increase in the risk of schizophrenia have produced findings on both sides of the question, as have studies on use and the onset of psychosis and social anxiety disorders. They also claimed that there’s evidence linking marijuana to abuse of other substances. (See also: Canada's Legal Marijuana Producers Will Meet Only 30-60% of Demand: Study.)

Also, as Stanford University pain specialist Sean Mackey pointed out to Vox, there already exist over 200 medical pain-relieving alternatives to opioids, so marijuana is not the most obvious solution yet.