 half said they used cannabis in combination with opioids to treat their pain. A vast majority of them stated that they either dropped opioid use completely, or greatly reduced their dosage over time. “You don’t see this anywhere else,” says Sulak. “Instead you see people coming back and asking for more and more opioids.” [1] These results show how powerful cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD oil) is at acting upon the endocannabinoid system to improve painful experience and mental health conditions such as anxiety. In saying that, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can in some patients, cause side effects that can over the long-term deteriorate mental health, so it's important that the correct dosage, strain, and ratio of CBD to THC is utilized in any cannabis product. Conversely, one can stick with hemp derived products, which in most countries contains less than 0.3% THC.
Can CBD Be Used to Treat Drug Addiction?
Medical marijuana, CBD, and other cannabis-based medicines have the potential to be a vital weapon in the war against the opioid epidemic, not to mention drug addiction, in general. Not to mention the overuse, drug abuse, and overdose of opioids in the United States. Cannabis medicine has been successfully used as a substitute for opioid-based pharmaceutical treatments for pain relief, allowing people to lower their dosages and prevent addiction, and also bring relief to various drug withdrawal symptoms. Cannabis and narcotic painkillers are known as co-agonists, which means that each of them magnifies the effect of the other. This information and use can help to allow people to take lower doses with comparable effectiveness. In one recent study involving over 300 participants using high doses of opioids to control pain, researchers found opioid intake could be reduced by a whopping 60% in just three weeks of CBD administration while still managing their pain at the same level. After two months, many patients were able to get off the opioid medicine altogether.
CBD has been found as a successful treatment when easing symptoms of opiate withdrawal during the addiction recovery process. CBD oil can also help to decrease the physical craving for the opiates, which is a big deal for anyone recovering from opiate addiction and can help prevent relapse. In the past, it was often said that cannabis is a gateway drug, however in reality, it is actually a gateway in the other direction; out of addiction. In fact, cannabis is a drug that is used to aid in the healing of people addicted to hard drugs. As reported in 2015, the sales of pharmaceutical opioid drugs had dropped by 5% in states that have legalized cannabis.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania published a study in 2014 examining the rates of opiate-related overdoses over an eleven year period between 1999 and 2010. They discovered that on average, the states that legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes showed a 25% lower opioid overdose mortality rate after the laws were implemented. Authors of the study stated that, “people already taking opioids for pain may supplement with medical marijuana and be able to lower their painkiller dose, thus lowering their risk of overdose.” [2] Can CBD be used to treat drug addiction? From the statistics and studies completed thus far, it certainly seems like it.
This correlation between legalizing cannabis use through the passing of a medical marijuana bill and a decrease in opioid overdose deaths has continued to strengthen over time. During the first year after a state’s law is implemented, deaths decrease by nearly 20% and continue to steadily drop. Five years after the law change, the rate extends to 34%. It is quite incredible the amount of lives saved with these changes.
These numbers are likely causing concern among pharmaceutical companies. Big Pharma has been a lead player in the opposition to marijuana reform. It has funded research by anti-cannabis academics [5] and smuggled millions of dollars to groups that are opposed to marijuana legalization (such as the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America). [6] [7] Pharmaceutical companies have also lobbied federal agencies directly to prevent the liberalization of marijuana laws.
The most prominent players in the anti-marijuana legalization movement are by far, pharmaceutical companies, alcohol and beer companies, private prison corporations, and police unions, all of whom help fund lobby groups that challenge marijuana law reform. Corrections Corporation America, one of the largest for-profit prison companies in the US, has spent almost $1 million per year on lobbying efforts. The company even stated in a report that “changes with respect to drugs and controlled substances... could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, and sentenced, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to house them.” [8] In other words, less people rotting in prisons means less money. Yes, there are companies out there that are created for the sole purpose of making money from people being imprisoned. You can find the link to the full report in the references section at the bottom of this article.
“There is big money in marijuana prohibition,” notes the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit research group based in Washington, DC, that investigated this link to anti-legalization lobbying efforts. [9] The organizations that received money from these companies to lobby Congress to maintain marijuana’s classification as a Schedule 1 drug, in spite of the fact that more than 22,000 people die every year in the US from overdoses of pharmaceutical drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [2] Three out of every four pharmaceutical overdose deaths involve prescription painkillers; that’s more than heroin and cocaine combined.
It seems that drug companies are doing their best to downplay the medical benefits of cannabis in order to maintain or increase the consumption and sale of their drugs; alcohol manufacturers certainly don’t want competition for their customers from legal marijuana (which provides a less expensive “buzz” than alcohol, and lasts longer); and private prisons need to fill their beds with convicted drug offenders (posession or sale). Marijuana advocates have some large and very well-funded enemies to content with. The future of legalized cannabis now rests with the efforts of the people to push for changes in state and federal laws, and their country of residence.
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Ah, the Eternal Question–how to do something with no money…been there, done that, many times, so I feel your pain, or at least your curiosity. I am here to help. I am going to show you how to do just that. Before you go on, you are invited to visit my About Joe page on this website and my Profile in Wealthy Affiliate. Also, this is not a “get-rich-quick” scheme…you will get out of it what you put into it. I would also like call your attention to the Affiliate Disclosure statement to the right…more on that later.
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2 free websites hosted on WA’s SiteRubix platform.
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You see, I only receive a commission for as long as that someone remains a member. It would not do me much good to attract members if I wasn’t confidant that We