Smoking cannabis doesn't only relieve stress, ease pain and cure cancer. Interestingly, a new study suggests marijuana can also improve treatment for heroin addicts.
Metro UK reports a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University investigated the use of cannabis among opioid-dependent subjects who were undergoing in-patient and outpatient detoxification with opioid addiction medication called naltrexone. While some in-patient subjects were given placebo, the others were given dronabinol --- a prescription drug that contains THC.
According to results, those who consumed dronabinol had lower withdrawal symptoms compared to those who had the placebo. Meanwhile, outpatients who used cannabis had reduced sleeping problems, less anxiety and were more likely to finish treatment than those who didn't.
"One of the interesting study findings was the observed beneficial effect of marijuana smoking on treatment retention," the researchers concluded. "Participants who smoked marijuana had less difficulty with sleep and anxiety and were more likely to remain in treatment as compared to those who were not using marijuana, regardless of whether they were taking dronabinol or placebo."
High Times reports previous studies done in 2001 and 2009 had similar conclusions. According to authors, outpatient subjects who used cannabis during opioid detoxification had greater adherence to treatment. Further, clinical data suggest that medicinal cannabis users were able to cease heroin use while the herb managed their pain.
According to surveys, states that have legalized medicinal cannabis reportedly had lower rates of opioid abuse and fatalities. In fact, those with easy access to legal herbal medication often substitute opioids with pot since it has lesser side effects.
The U.S. Centers of Disease Control reports over 16,600 opioid overdose deaths in 2010.
The abstract of the study entitled "The effects of dronabinol during detoxification and the initiation of treatment with extended release naltrexone" was published online in PubMed.gov.
