Drug addiction is a chronic disease that plagues communities around the world. Treating addiction is an imperfect science. Options are complex and many patients require long-term care to kick their habits. And, even when they do, many fall into relapse. Not all treatments work for everyone and experts are looking for new ways to treat this epidemic. One new method turns the traditional approach upside down and instead of keeping patients from using any drugs, specialists are now letting patients use cannabis products like weedmaps, pineapple express, death bubba, and many that be bought from Topdispensary.
Well, you might be thinking that why would someone treat drug addiction with weed, which is also considered as a drug in several ways. Cannabis or Lemon Haze Strain is a natural plant and it carries more than 104 cannabinoids. The main compounds are THC and CBD in which THC is psychoactive cannabinoids while CBD is used to create medicines and treating various medical conditions. So using this natural drug against synthetic drug sounds goods to many rehabs and drug addiction research centers.
CNN recently examined an addiction treatment called “harm reduction strategy.” It seeks to lessen the adverse health social and economic effects of psychoactive drug use, without reducing drug consumption. Treatment centers like LA’s high sobriety are implementing programs that use pot to wean addicts off of heroin, opioids, crack cocaine, and other drugs. It’s their hope that patients will lower their drug use over time essentially, its detox by way of marijuana.
But this is definitely a controversial method, why would anyone go to rehab to get hooked on pot? It sounds nuts, right? But the thinking is that complete abstinence could cause a former addict to relapse and by replacing harder drugs with marijuana, they will have increased success. Studies in Canada and some European countries are exploring the possible benefits of marijuana for treating addiction. Doctors like Yasmine Hurd from the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai School, found that cannabis is helpful for heroin addiction. The Center for Biological Diversity found marijuana can help reverse changes in the brain caused by heroin use as it relieves anxiety caused by addiction and reduces episodes of relapse.
Canada recently funded a study that substituted crack cocaine with marijuana. The study followed over 100 drug users and how frequently they smoked or injected crack during three periods; before, during, and after cannabis use. Although crack use didn’t significantly change while subjects use cannabis, crack use did diminish after they used it. With many users reporting that they smoked almost half as much crack when compared to before. Of course, there are still mountains to climb when it comes to finding the best way to treat drug addiction.
However, there is hope from organizations like the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is providing grants for testing marijuana in the treatment of methamphetamine dependence, alcoholism, and the opioids withdraw. After all weed as medicine people. So how do you feel about cannabis being used to treat drug addiction? You can sound off in the comments section below.