Cannabis is powerless here

Marijuana doesn't help with opiate addiction

Anna Kerman, XX2 century, based on The Indian Express: Marijuana may not aid patients fighting opioid addiction

The results of a new study have demonstrated that the effectiveness of marijuana as a means to alleviate the symptoms of opiate withdrawal is a controversial issue and requires further study. Although many people suffering from opioid addiction use cannabis to cope with pain, from the point of view of science, this practice is still unfounded.

Frequent use of marijuana is not able to help cope with pain, depression and anxiety in patients suffering from opiate addiction. This is the conclusion reached by the authors of a new scientific paper. Moreover, the study showed that cannabis can complicate the task of combating the manifestations of withdrawal syndrome.

"If marijuana really helped to cope with opiate addiction, then we could hope for the following pattern: the more cannabis, the fewer withdrawal symptoms," explains Marian Wilson from Washington State University.

In fact, the frequent use of marijuana by patients turned out to be associated with problems in managing their own emotions. As a result, such patients experienced more difficulties when trying to cope with the manifestations of withdrawal syndrome. The researchers noted that the link between pain syndrome, depression and anxiety increased as the frequency of marijuana use increased.

For the research, the results of which are published in the publication Addictive Behaviors (Cannabis use moderates the relationship between pain and negative affect in adults with opioid use disorder), scientists recruited 150 volunteers. It turned out that 67% of them regularly use marijuana.

"Some claimed that they use cannabis only for recreational purposes, but many said that they use marijuana to cope with pain, improve sleep and improve mood," says Wilson. "As part of the study, we were unable to find evidence that the use of cannabis really helps to solve these problems."

The authors of the study also noted that the incidence of opiate overdose in the United States has more than tripled over the past two decades. Overdose of heroin or similar substances is now the second most common cause of accidental deaths in the country. However, according to a new study, marijuana is hardly able to help cope with this problem. "The effectiveness of cannabis as a means to relieve unpleasant symptoms remains questionable and requires further study," adds Wilson.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru