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cannabis for opiate addiction

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.
 
I came off a gram+ of H a day using gabapentin and pot. Pot was a god-send for me during and after WD. The only downside is I'm spending almost as much on weed as I was on H, but at least my veins aren't getting fucked up. Gabapentin can be a HUGE help too, and it's pretty easy to get a prescription.
 
Well I was always a week smoker..but I ahev tried to get clean off opiates.. detoxed all that gotten clean theN i am like i am only going to smoke weed. Ok well that doesn;'t work for me.. for me it's gotto be all or nothing. once I start smoking then I get in the habit of getting high.. its just a matter of time until I have a weak moment and relapse. Same thing wtih drinking..if I get into that habit of getting fucked up there is that one night where you are like damn I can get so much more fucked for $5 bucks lol.

Trading one addiction for the other generally does not work.. but hey if its working for you that is great.

Also to clarify..the OP is talking about using weed after he has already detoxed from opiates.. Not for withdrawals or dependency.
 
Googled marijuana for opiate addiction and this is the first thing that came up. I just wanted to say that I was using oxycontin somewhat heavily. I was doing at least 80-160 mgs a day for 3 years. I was using it lighter than that for 2 years before that. It got very expensive. On January 24th 2012 I checked into treatment. I was in treatment for 2 months and stayed sober for another 5 after leaving by going to meetings. I am proud to say it has almost been a year since I have touched an opiate. I did however start smoking marijuana daily. I was never into marijuana before because it really makes me take a look at myself and I was not happy with how I was living life. It has been 3 months since I started smoking and tonight will be my second time ever going to the gym to lift weights. I drink a smoothie made of kale/celery/cucumber/pear/pineapple/ginger/flaxseed/garlic every day now. I guess I am just trying to say that the marijuana maintenance works for some people. I have no desire to ever put an opiate in my body again. I love life now, 12 months ago I was suicidal. I never submitted to the theory that I needed to be on psychotropics either. They tried to force them on me all through treatment. Life is good. Fuck opiates.
 
Cannabis got me through WD before, but not for opiates. It helps a lot with brain zaps, nausea, and feeling dizzy.
 
I first hand understand comming off opiates as I had a huge problem like doctor shopping which I am lucky I never got caught. But a friend well now my bestfriend got me started on MJ about 13 months ago. She was very nice when I first started I had minor panic attacks due to my severe anxiety. But once I I breathed through them It was A GOD send. I used it for everything right away the wake and bake to not vomit so I could drink and eat to take my anti depressents. And I was able to NOT believe it or not lose weight. I was 108lbs at the time and was able to maintain that weight. I AM so thankful I was wasn't so arrogant like I was in the past on my stance on MJ. I know use it for my chronic pain and my nerve damage in my back and neck and tension migraines. It most def. played a VERY important role in my detox with my opiate addiction and now helps with keeping me off them and controlling my pain to a degree I thought would never be possible but I am living proof. FUCK 5-0 when it comes to pot!!
 
cannabis is a godsend for opiate withdrawls but i have to agree with what another user said, and that it must be an indica..i find indica the best for opiate withdrawls as it is more narcotic.
Also i have been using cannabis medically in conjunction with my methadone maintenance, however the weed is not prescribed to me, its my own remedy to help.
As this is my 3rd try on the methadone gig, and this is my last go at it, i hate methadone personally, yes it alows me to function without street opiates. But honestly i think methadone has done the most harm to my body. The first time i was on methadone maintenance was for 2years, and in thoes 2 years i had more trips to the er, and suffered more illness in those 2 years then i had combined in my lifetime. morning nausea and vomiting was almost constant sleep was almost non existent ect, all around bad time..and many would say i needed a higher dose of methadone..i was on 85mg a day. and the dose was not the problem, it was the drug.
when i started smoking cannabis while on methadone almost all of these negative aspects went away as well as reduced craving for opiates. But this became inconsistent as the quality of the marijuana i have acess to is not medicinal grade and most of the time is only mid grade, so the medicinal effects are not as pronounced as when i have top quality smoke.
So at the moment i am preparing an experiment of sorts to document my self over a two month period or so documenting one month without cannabis followed by a one-two week transitional period in which no residual thc should be in my body. And then beggin smoking cannabis again (basically the plot of that movie superhigh me..i kno un-original) And documenting the positive medicinal effects the cannabis is having in conjunction with my methadone..and eventually taper off the methadone completely and continue my recovery with marijuana maintenance alone.
 
yeah weed is great for that..i wish marijuana maintenance was a first line choice for opiate addiction recovery plans can clinics! or at least combine a Marijuana regime along side the methadone maintenance and then taper off of the methadone completely over time(as with most methadone programs) but i think that with the induction of cannabis alongside drugs like methadone the patient would be able to taper off of opiate alot more quickly hen with w.e ur substitution drug
Which ever your substitution drug ..I think marijuana is much safer alternative for long term maintenance..And going from experience of being on and off methadone since june 2010, marijuana has helped far beyond any other otc drug and is probably more helpful then the methadone it self (if you have high grade medical pot) at keeping you level and straight once you have detoxed stabalized,(on methadone) have stayed clean on the methadone(hey im guilty b4 i used to eat alot of benzo's..not this time tho only twice) go thru the methadone program and attend any groups that the clinc wants u to! n try to take grasp of it i know its all the same shit we have hear b4..but the first time u hear it when you have finally feel it inside that says fuck this shit, iv had this needle stuck in here to long this houses is a mess i got no life wtf am i doing i cant leave this as my legacy in life..a fuckin hydromorph junky spendin $ridiculous dollas on chemical blow job and a 4 hour nod..and that dolla amount keeps rising..im talking 24-30+++mg sots..this is an expensive drug...and in my area no heroin to even turn to lol . after awhile u realise..U cant live this way.....WELL me for weed helps like nuns at orphanages ..and Im really gunna try my hardest to get on this medical...its hard as hell to get medical weed license in canada not like u in the states..altho that fact dosent make me envy u..wash/Colorado now that is an envy dream there,,we cuncks always figured we would have some sort of system like that be4 youg uys..but alas i congratulate the movement on that win!
but another thing i should say about weed for opiates..is while on methadone u dont feel any opi cravings..or at least u shouldnt..when off methadone the cravings will come back, the weed dosent kill them but it sure as hell makes them alot more easy to manage enuf so to not go out and give in..but again quality of bud is kind of a factor.

A friend of mine gets medical weed here in canada..but doesn't have his own grower and no where to grow ne him self(but as far as finding a grower i think health canada isgoing to abolish the whole system we now have and commercialize it with a few super sized producers each carrying their own line up of strains.
..now this is just what i have read..nothing seems to point to full legalization but with plans tat sound like this one is almost to led to think of legal weed on the horizon....but then a bad taste gets slaped into your mouth when u learn that canadian medical marijuana patient wont be allowed to grow their own medicine at all !!
no they must buy from these health canada sanctioned super grower Corporations, such as health-canada's now prairie plat systems- canni med http://www.prairieplant.com/cannimed-medicinal-marijuana.html and acualy just looking at the link i posted they appears to have different kinds of weed, differentiated by the 12.1 9.9 ect. on the bottles . but a friend of mine who gets his weed from them has only access to one kind...it is a decent product..but i couldn't even place it up among the great smokes iv had in the past in comparison to head buz the dankness and just the all around experience hat goes with bombass top notch bud ..but it helps fantastically for my medical purpose of using it along with my methadone and its great...like dont get what iv said wrong, this weed get you stoned, its just different..for fuck sakes its grown by the fed! of course they're gunna turn down the fun.

BUt yes weed is great to help control and maintain your opiod dependence
 
I believe cannabis is worst than opiates, so why shift? I mean, in terms of withdrawal, it's more likely that you'd get away from opiates rather than cannabis - only if you want to stop taking in any types of drugs.
 
After a staff member edits your post for breaking the rules, please do not change your post back to its original form ^
 
Lady303 said:
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.
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Also it's just replacing one drug with another one, or replacing one addiction for another. For a lot of addicts this just makes us relapse on our drug(s) of choice.
 
I think its helpful. Lately in between using oxy an h I been coasting on bud to get by. It can be really hit or miss for me and sometimes causes me a lot of anxiety.
 
As a 10 year veteran of cannabis consumption, and an 8 year veteran of opiate addiction I feel qualified to answer. And my answer is: I don't know, yes and no

Herb certainly helps the stomach cramps, nausea, lack of appetite, and diarrhea.

But more often than not it makes the anxiety unbearable. It's a trade-off.
 
it depends on the strain for me...one makes me so paranoid and shoots my anxiety thru the roof ....but the other strain is great for opiate WD the one that makes you sleepy..ya know?? i dont remember the names but there is at least 2 strains ....i was told about this from a dude that grows and knows his shit......
 
The high CBD strains - I know I talk about them a lot - are really helpful for opiate craving. Some of these strains have up to 12% THC (OmritaRX and CannaTsunami come to mind) so they still get you stoned as fuck if you smoke enough, but CBD adds this whole other dimension that I would describe as much more similar to an opiate buzz. Don't get me wrong, the feeling is no where near the same, not at all, but the effects are similar enough (sedation, euphoria, analgesia, etc) that they make a good enough substitution to scratch that itch. Lately, I've been in a lot of post-op pain, got my old DOC oxy for pain control, started right back where I left off and abused the fuck out of it, realized the road I was traveling, started smoking CBD strains, and that was that. Whenever I have some acute pain, I toke. More importantly, whenever I have a recreational craving, the sedation and euphoria makes me forget I even wanted to take opiates. I guess that's what it comes down to, smoke some weed, forget I'm in pain and in love with oxy.

I'd happily trade oxy addiction for weed addiction, but I mean... I'm not about to spark the debate over the existence of weed addiction.
 
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the ganja totally helps. helps with all come-downs. used to use it all the time for my MDMA and meth amp comedowns.

hell of a lot better than popping benzos imho

Kapitan.Crunk said:
sir if u think a weed addiction is worse then an opiate addiction i fell that u must be insane?
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i dunno. withdrawal certainly. opi withdrawal is wayyy worse than ganja withdrawal. i personally find i am much more interactive and productive on opis than ganja but i guess that is an individual thing.
 
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