Marijuana Study: Cannabis Mitigates Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms

Welcome The New Anti-Gateway Drug!

Most everyone understands that smoking weed feels great – yet, some will deny themselves that state of bliss. Fearful of repercussions from the many different law enforcement entities that hate pot out of ignorance, many suffer in silence. However, with a new study out indicating marijuana’s ability to mitigate the symptoms of opiate withdrawals in subjects undergoing methadone maintenance treatment, many may soon find themselves reevaluating marijuana as a new Anti-Gateway drug?

Just published in The American Journal on Addictions, a new study conducted by researchers at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University, located in Philadelphia have determined through the close observation of 90  opiate dependent individuals, that marijuana greatly reduces withdrawal symptoms in addicts undergoing methadone treatment. Concluding that

   “the present findings may point to a novel intervention to be employed during treatment for opiate dependencies that specifically targets cannabinoid – opiate system interactions.”

When asked to rate their withdraw discomfort level on the clinical opiate withdrawal scale, most recovering addicts found increased marijuana consumption reduced the level of discomfort associated with a painful process of opiate withdrawal. Leading scientists involved in this research to surmise

    “these results suggested a potential role for cannabis and reduction of withdrawal severity during methadone induction.”

While medical marijuana research has been coming out hard and fast in the last past six months, and most understand its ability to alleviate chronic pain, nausea, muscular spasms, insomnia and a host of other debilitating health issues. The idea that marijuana can help heroin addicts back down from their addiction enters a whole new realm of miracle applications for cannabis.

Source-- http://www.marijuana.com/news/2013/07/marijuana-study-cannabis-mitigates-opiate-withdrawal-symptoms/