smoking cannabis didn't help the young kick opioid use: reports
recent findings will likely add to the debate given that studies to date “present a very mixed picture of the possible role of cannabis in the self-treatment”
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all program participants “said they were motivated by the desire to get high and by the belief that smoking marijuana would help them to not return to opiate use.” /
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despite the promise of cannabis as a therapy for opioid use disorder (oud), a new pilot study suggests young people who smoked weed to avoid returning to opiate use reported the approach was ineffectual and promoted relapse.
that is the finding of anpre-proof study that synopsizes the experiences of 26 adolescents and young adults — 18 males and eight females between 14 and 22 — who have oud and were in an intensive outpatient treatment program.
the patients “who tried to smoke marijuana as a harm reduction strategy to not return to opioid use were not successful. smoking marijuana appeared to enhance cravings and urges for opiates and promoted relapse to opiate use,” the study author writes. in fact, every person “relapsed back to opiate use.”
investigators came to the conclusion after subjects were screened for oud, asked if they had ever tried cannabis to help reduce their opioid abuse and then interviewed by a senior staff member. among the factors considered were drug use prior to developing oud, length of time between sobriety and first relapse by smoking cannabis, effects of smoking weed on cravings and urges, and time between relapse on cannabis and return to opiate use.
all program participants “said they were motivated by the desire to get high and by the belief that smoking marijuana would help them to not return to opiate use,” notes the study abstract. additionally, “all said that smoking marijuana increased their cravings and urges for opiates, and within a range of one day to six weeks they returned to opiate use.”
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the experiences of the young people produced some typical responses when interviewed. these included, “the weed made me want more,” “each time i relapsed on weed, i would immediately think heroin is so much better” and “if i’m already getting high, i might as well get really high, because opiates are better.”
these recent findings will likely add to the debate given that studies to date “present a very mixed picture of the possible role of cannabis in the self-treatment” of oud, notes the study abstract.
results run the gamut from positive and negative effects with regard to withdrawal to reports of decreased opioid consumption and either no effect or an uptick in non-medical opiate use.
canadian research even determined that legalizing cannabis has led to a “marked decline” in how many opioids are prescribed across the country. and another canadian study of patients seeking medical cannabis to treat chronic pain found that opioid use was halved for those staying in the study until the end.
but a recently released article suggests that absent clinical trials, “cannabis and cannabinoids should not be portrayed as an evidence-based treatment for oud,” the author of the new pilot study points out.
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that said, a research round-up by the national organization for the reform of marijuana laws cites a number of studies in which cannabis use has had a positive impact in terms of reducing opioid use.
given the size of recent pilot study, the author acknowledges significant limitations, including that all participants were unsuccessful at using smoked cannabis to prevent opiate relapse and the experiences may differ in an older population.
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