• CD Moderators: nepalnt21
  • Cannabis Discussion Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules

cannabis for opiate addiction

Candy_Raver

Candy_Raver

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
332
Location
Happy Candyland
Had anyone here whom was formally addicted to opiates, got past the withdrawls, then used a cannabis habit instead of a opiate habit? Or due to using cannabis greatly reduced your use of opiates? I'm talking something like cannabis maintence?

I know its trading one addiction for another, but a cannabis one seems to do far less harm than say you had a opiate habit. Another thing is factor is I can function while high on cannabis, same is said while high on opiates. But if you don't have opiates you with withdrawal and you can't function. Even without weed I can still function, and function while high too.

Another is legality, I'm in a state is allows for medical cannabis, and have a very relaxed atmosphere about it, and it is a socially acceptable drug. Verse opiates its illegal, and you can get into some legal trouble if your caught. Stigma wise the perception of stoners are not even close to as bad as junkies.

Then there is cost, opiates seems far more expensive, while cannabis which still can be expensive can go a long way. I can afford a habit where I got stoned everyday, but if I tried that with opiates it dosn't last long.

So had anyone whom was were opiate dependent switch addictions and went to using cannabis? Have you just used cannabis and not even up going back to your drug of choice which was opiates?

-PLUR
 
Cannabis has nowhere near the effects of opiates. Not even weak ones like codeine or hydrocodone. The two are not even comparable! Not to mention the fact that you can't form a physical dependence on cannabis.

Cannabis does, however, work well in addition to the opiates as it has been medically proven to help with nausea.
 
I don't beleive cannibis helps with addiction. Most medicinal users take opiates as well. If you are goin to quit and still need stimulation you might want to consider other herbal remedys. I heard kratom works well. might do your research first though. But as for cannibas. it isn't gonna help much at all unless you are already past wirthdraws.
 
I've used weed to help with opiate withdrawal, it does a really good job at getting rid of them for a little. And is really good for sleep. I've found that I'm less likely to crave opiates when I'm stoned as well. But in no way will weed give you the same high as opiates, there is nothing like a great opiate high. Good for maintenance, not for substitution.
 
I'm sure a strain that's really well known for being a soporific, knockout strain like a pure Afghani would be great in some cookies before bed whilst in mild opiate withdrawal. It won't be helpful at all for more serious opiate withdrawal though - it might even make it worse.
 
OP is talking about using cannabis after opiate WD. I had a friend who was a huge oxycodone addict, he quit and started smoking cannabis several times a day and has been clean from opiates for years. Sure it's not ideal but if you just have to get high then cannabis is your cheapest and safest bet. I've seen other people maintain on cannabis as well, it's certainly possible and effective for some people.
 
Right now I'm currently trying to stop my heroin addiction cold turkey, and I've found marijuana to help a bit with my withdrawals. Although I am still uncomfortable, barely get any sleep, and am restless at all times I feel smoking weed helps me relax to an extent and helps keep me sane. No matter what, opiate withdrawal sucks and it's going to suck trying to overcome them...

Recently, I revived my thread from 5 months ago when I first decided I was going to try heroin in the "other drugs" section. I decided to give an update how bad things ended up for me... Moral of the story is avoid all opiates if possible and save yourself some trouble.
 
I have found cannabis use to help with other addictions. I have found it to help the most with alcohol addiction, but it also helped with opiate addiction as well. When I smoke weed I get pretty disgusted with the idea of doing heroin, so my use goes down.

The best way for me to describe how it helps me with alcoholism is that when I am high, I am content with my state of mind, so I don't look to get completely wasted. I do still drink, but I drink a lot less when I smoke weed. I find things to be a lot more interesting when I'm high, so there isn't a need for me to keep drinking until I pass out.
 
It helps me. The munchies are great when you've been sick for two days and haven't eaten or had the desire to do so. It can help with sleep, and also serves and a nice distraction from things. It can also be good to stop hanging out with you opiate friends and just start chilling with the stoners again (well, for me at least).

It isn't a replacement, but if you're going to trade a high for another, you can't go wrong with bud imho.

(note: I've been mostly a daily smoker for years, I smoked while I was hooked on opiates as well.)
 
I've have a number of friends who have used Marijuana to help them cope with Heroin & Methadone withdrawal. It's helped me significantly as I been lowering my Methadone dose over the past 6 months. Though I started smoking Marijuana (on a daily bases) when I re-joined the Methadone clinic a couple years ago. For me, Marijuana has helped keep my mind off of using (most of the time) while on Methadone because when I get home from work, I rip a bong hit and I feel satisfied. Plus it helps me sleep at a night.

@Candy_Raver
It's very common for a person to replace one habit for another. After I went through Rapid Detox (years ago) to get of off 220mg (daily) of Methadone. I started drinking Alcohol and using Cocaine because it allowed me fulfill my need to get screwed up without the repercussion of physical addiction. After time went on, it eventually got old and I started filling my time with Martial Arts and working out instead. I was clean for 3years 2months and 4days until my dumb ass decided "Well, I could use Heroin once... It's my Birthday". Boy, I wish I never made that mistake because it brought me right back to where I left off back to the Methadone clinic.
 
I can't say I have ever successfully used Weed to replace another addiction, but my addictions outside of weed are stimulants so it makes sense. I can however tell you that weed is LITERALLY a godsend for opiate withdrawal. In the past year or so me and my doctors have been bouncing around different opiates to help with my arthritis. None of them worked because I have a natural tolerance that is insanely high. (on what would be a 0 tolerance level, it takes 120mg of Morphine IR to get a lil bit of a buzz. 0 tolerance 8mg of hydromorphone sniffed gives a light buzz as well, 100ug of fentanyl IV was the only opiate to ever get me HIGH not just a light buzz)

But regardless of if it works or not, after using it for 3-4 weeks I still would go into withdrawal. I would gave to take 48 hours between switching meds (so if my last dose of tramadol was at 9am thursday, I wouldnt be able to dose my oxy till 9am saturday). I basically laid in my bed with my bong beside me, and honestly there were so many times I was convinced I would have died from withdrawals without weed (not really but youj get the idea). I couldn't imagine what withdrawals feel like for an addict whos been on a high dose for years trying to jump off O.O
 
I had used indica hashish along with a low dose of a long acting benzo to get me past opiate withdrawal, and it has eliminated about 95% of it.

What I originally ment was using cannabis after opiate withdrawal, so you get high on cannabis, your content with the high produced from cannabis and you don't get opiate cravings, or greatly reduces the cravings. Once that issue is eliminated you don't have the urge to go cop opiates, hence staying off it. It's basically replacing an addiction with a much less harmful addiction.

-PLUR
 
Replacing an addiction with another addiction is never a good idea. Yes, weed is to opiates as Wall Climbing at the YMCA is to Scaling a side of a mountain, certainly less harmful. But, depending on the extent of your opiate addiction and the amount of weed you need to smoke to overcome the craving, it might not be good considering the human lung was never intended to be a holding space for smoke. I'd recommend if you do use weed to curb the opiate cravings you vapourize it or even think about taking it orally.

Hope everything works out for ya, good job kickin' the opiates!
 
Hi Candy Raver!!

Hey Candy Raver!!! I remember seeing your posts in Trip Reports. <3

So, when it comes to the Captain's opinion here, I must say... cannabis is a godsend during opiate withdrawal. I know you'll hear a LOT of different opinions here as we are all unique/different human beings. However, for me, without weed, I'd still be on heroin, and I've been clean for a few years now. %)
 
GBM said:
Replacing an addiction with another addiction is never a good idea. Yes, weed is to opiates as Wall Climbing at the YMCA is to Scaling a side of a mountain, certainly less harmful. But, depending on the extent of your opiate addiction and the amount of weed you need to smoke to overcome the craving, it might not be good considering the human lung was never intended to be a holding space for smoke. I'd recommend if you do use weed to curb the opiate cravings you vapourize it or even think about taking it orally.

Hope everything works out for ya, good job kickin' the opiates!
Click to expand...

I usually avoid smoking the cannabis, and would much rather eat it. Even tho it takes a little longer to kick in, but I get a body high, and it last so much longer. From where I am from where medical cannabis is allowed I can get cannabis in whatever form (buds, hash, keif, tincture, and a huge assortment of edibles) so the way I consume it dosn't harm my lungs.
 
Captain.Heroin said:
Hey Candy Raver!!! I remember seeing your posts in Trip Reports. <3

So, when it comes to the Captain's opinion here, I must say... cannabis is a godsend during opiate withdrawal. I know you'll hear a LOT of different opinions here as we are all unique/different human beings. However, for me, without weed, I'd still be on heroin, and I've been clean for a few years now. %)
Click to expand...

It was also nice running into you again. I do agree that cannabis has helped me greatly back when I had a opiate habit, and greatly helped me quit. I ended up in a 3 month inpatient rehab, which explains my long inactivity from the forums. Ever since I got out, I've used opiates about 3 times back in early 2011, but never resorted back the IV. On a different story I ended up picking a habit of playing World of warcraft and that itself is a huge time sink. Recently I have found a hook for oxycodone, and been just crushing and swallowing the pills. I do feel that after that fact that I have a contact for it, that it will cause me problems. This is the reason why I posted this thread so I wanted to hear from people prespective about if cannabis had helped folks post opiate withdrawl, and if it has kept them off opiates.

My plan is to consume cannabis orally, so I'll be in a stoned state and I wouldn't get a craving for opiate or greatly reduce therefore I don't head out and go cop. I think this is working for me so far.

-PLUR
 
I have. Was hooked on duilauds and oxy's daily for over 2 years. When it comes to using it for withdrawls, in my opinion MAKE SURE ITS AN INDICA. Feeling that tweeky, irratible, want to put a gun in your mouth feeling you can get from opiate withdrawls, then getting to high on a potent sativa can be a train wreck. I have been smoking pot daily since i quit, but like you said, a cannabis "addiction" is a walk in the park compared to just about any other addiction. If you have to go without weed for a few days, all you have to do is keep busy and you will hardly even notice. I strongly recommend at least trying to use it to help wth the WD's, i wouldnt plan on replacing on addiction for another, but if it happens your life will still be in a much better place than it was while ur hooked on opiates. And it does help very much with cravings, anytime i feel cravings for pills a good indica can make me content.

BTW congrats Captin H. Not on here nearly as much since I quit using, but glad to see your still doing good, you had a big impact on my desicion to kick pills.
 
Last edited:
I find that it helps a bit, it stops me thinking about opiates when I am high, but if I am really craving opiates nothing helps me, I just have to wait it out.
 
http://www.cannabissearch.com/articles/cannabis-to-treat-opiate-dependence/

Cannabis has been used by doctors to treat opiate dependence since at least 124 years, according to documentation from multiple doctors dating anywhere from 1889 to 2009. One such doctor was E. A. Birch, M.D. who recorded success in treating not only opiate dependence with cannabis, but also Chloral addiction.

In 1887, while in Calcutta, India, Birch came upon a man who confided in him that he suffered from an opiate addiction. After the man's wife reportedly died of the same addiction, the man's use of the drug became so heavy that he was fully addicted. He couldn't sleep without the drug, couldn't eat at all and often contemplated suicide. After analyzing the patient, Birch prescribed a tincture containing 10 minims cannabis indica and strophanth. Birch then instructed the patient to take the tincture medicine daily as prescribed and report back in 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, the patient returned. He reported that at first his use of the drug had greatly improved, but over time he stopped taking his medication regularly and slipped back into the full intensity of his addiction. After hearing this, Birch then prescribed his patient a pill containing cannabis indica. Amazingly, in just 24 hours the cravings for the opiates were gone, the man took the pill (which lasted longer and was stronger than the tincture) as prescribed and returned to living a healthy and productive life. He never used opiates again.

Much more recently, in 2009 ScienceDaily published a report by Valerie Dauge of the Laboratory for Physiopathology of Diseases of the Central Nervous System. In this report, she and her team concluded that, when given 10 mg injections of THC (the main active ingredient found in marijuana), lab rats who were previously addicted to morphine and/or heroin gradually reduced their dependence on the drug, finally being cured. It's hypothesized then, that opiate addiction could soon become a reason for a prospective patient to obtain a medical marijuana prescription.

Cannabis hasn't just been used to treat those addicted to opiates either. It can also help reduce the need for opiate-based drugs in patients with chronic pain and severe pain. In several cases, patients who lived a life that would be full of pain if it weren't for heavy-duty painkillers such as Oxy-codone, Oxy-contin, morphine, etc, were given a prescription a 2 - 4 "puffs" of marijuana periodically throughout the day. In these cases, the patients pain medications were reduced by up to half the amount they normally had to take to be pain-free. This, in turn, caused them to be less-dependent on the drugs.

Some may then raise the question of whether or not those who use cannabis to treat opiate dependence would then become dependent of cannabis. However zero - I repeat, zero - research has found that cannabis a physically addicting drug. It's not addictive, but if someone were to use cannabis to treat opiate dependence, it would still be recommended to continue use of cannabis. Some findings conclude the reason for marijuana helping opiate addicts is that the sedative feeling of strong indicas is somewhat comparable to the high from opiates. This is why it would be recommended to continue usage of marijuana, even after months or years of sobriety from heroin, morphine or any of those drugs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top