jct74
04-29-2016, 06:38 PM
Could marijuana help treat painkiller and heroin addiction?
By MICHAEL CASEY
Apr. 26, 2016 3:44 PM EDT
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The growing number of patients who claim marijuana helped them drop their painkiller habit has intrigued lawmakers and emboldened advocates, who are pushing for cannabis as a treatment for the abuse of opioids and illegal narcotics like heroin, as well as an alternative to painkillers.
It's a tempting sell in New England, hard hit by the painkiller and heroin crisis, with a problem: There is very little research showing marijuana works as a treatment for the addiction.
Advocates argue a growing body of scientific literature supports the idea, pointing to a study in the Journal of Pain this year that found chronic pain sufferers significantly reduced their opioid use when taking medical cannabis. And a study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found cannabis can be effective in treating chronic pain and other ailments.
But the research falls short of concluding marijuana helps wean people off opioids — Vicodin, Oxycontin and related painkillers — and heroin, and many medical professionals say it's not enough for them to confidently prescribe it.
In Maine, which is considering adding opioid and heroin addiction to the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana, Michelle Ham said marijuana helped her end a yearslong addiction to painkillers she took for a bad back and neck.
...
read more:
http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/b236c70a2c5b4e26b659421015c319f0/could-marijuana-help-treat-painkiller-and-heroin-addiction
By MICHAEL CASEY
Apr. 26, 2016 3:44 PM EDT
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The growing number of patients who claim marijuana helped them drop their painkiller habit has intrigued lawmakers and emboldened advocates, who are pushing for cannabis as a treatment for the abuse of opioids and illegal narcotics like heroin, as well as an alternative to painkillers.
It's a tempting sell in New England, hard hit by the painkiller and heroin crisis, with a problem: There is very little research showing marijuana works as a treatment for the addiction.
Advocates argue a growing body of scientific literature supports the idea, pointing to a study in the Journal of Pain this year that found chronic pain sufferers significantly reduced their opioid use when taking medical cannabis. And a study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found cannabis can be effective in treating chronic pain and other ailments.
But the research falls short of concluding marijuana helps wean people off opioids — Vicodin, Oxycontin and related painkillers — and heroin, and many medical professionals say it's not enough for them to confidently prescribe it.
In Maine, which is considering adding opioid and heroin addiction to the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana, Michelle Ham said marijuana helped her end a yearslong addiction to painkillers she took for a bad back and neck.
...
read more:
http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/b236c70a2c5b4e26b659421015c319f0/could-marijuana-help-treat-painkiller-and-heroin-addiction