Can Medical Marijuana Be Used To Fight Opioid Addiction?

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Can Medical Marijuana Be Used To Fight Opioid
Addiction?
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Is Marijuana An Opioid?
Marijuana and opioids have some characteristics
in common. Both drugs can be sedating, putting
the user to sleep, or causing them to start to
nod off. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
can benefit from both medicinal cannabis and
opioids to make treatment more tolerable.
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Can Medical Marijuana Help Combat The Opioid
Epidemic?
With the initial treatment of opioid abuse,
medicinal marijuana probably is not the right
tool for the job. There are a variety of
different strains of marijuana. And, the response
to a cannabinoid is individual. Different people
respond differently when they consume cannabis.
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What Is The Marijuana Maintenance Program?
There is an old joke told in the rooms of 12-step
recovery meetings about something known as the
marijuana maintenance program. The joke is that
a person who claims to be clean and only smokes
pot has created their program of recovery. The
implication is that they are doomed to fail and
should not be considered clean by the standards
of programs such as AA and NA.
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Can You Get A Prescription For Medical Marijuana?
There is an old joke told in the rooms of 12-step
recovery meetings about something known as the
marijuana maintenance program. The joke is that
a person who claims to be clean and only smokes
pot has created their program of recovery. The
implication is that they are doomed to fail and
should not be considered clean by the standards
of programs such as AA and NA.
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Marijuana Is A Schedule I Drug.
Proponents of marijuana use like to point out
that no one has ever died of a marijuana
overdose. And, they say, it is far safer than
alcohol and many other drugs, including opioid
analgesics, that is legal and less controlled.
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Should Marijuana Be Legal?
Proponents of marijuana use like to point out
that no one has ever died of a marijuana
overdose. And, they say, it is far safer than
alcohol and many other drugs, including opioid
analgesics, that is legal and less controlled.
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Many People, Especially Children, Equate
Legalization Of A Drug With Relative Safety
Marijuana can have serious, permanent adverse
effects on short-term memory and motivation.
People under the age of twenty-five should take
care and refrain from marijuana use unless
absolutely necessary for medical purposes.
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How Does Medical Cannabis Fit in Currently with
Treating Opioid Addiction Opioid Dependence?
There are certainly anecdotal reports of patients
being helped by cannabis in quitting opioids.
Additionally, there are cases where patients have
reported success in tapering off of a Suboxone
medication assisted treatment program with the
help of medical marijuana.
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Are There People Who Cannot Tolerate THC Or
Cannabis Products?
Since there are nearly always alternatives to
recommending medical cannabis, doctors should
probably not be too pushy about it. If a patient
is against marijuana, when their doctor starts to
lecture them on the benefits of medical
marijuana, the patient will probably not be
open-minded about it at all.
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So Are You For Or Against Medical Cannabis And
Legalized Recreational Cannabis Use?
When it comes to drug addiction, especially
opioid and alcohol addiction, there is a high
risk of serious illness and death. We must use
whatever tools are available to us if these tools
have been demonstrated to be beneficial.
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For Patients they Must End The Habit Of Using
Illicit Substances Obtained On The Streets
Medical marijuana must be recommended by a
certified marijuana doctor and dispensed at a
state-approved dispensary. I am not registered
with my state for recommending marijuana. While I
believe that we must be open to using tools that
work in addiction treatment, I have my own
reservations about the legalization of marijuana.
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In Conclusion
The issue of marijuana legalization and its use
for medical treatment, including for addiction
and pain relief, is complex. Regarding addiction
treatment, opioid, and alcohol treatment, in
particular, we must consider being more
pragmatic, using what works and what saves lives.
Harm reduction means doing what it takes to
reduce harm, including reducing the incidence of
disease, injury, and death, particularly opioid
overdose deaths.
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