CBD Used as a Heroin Treatment
By SIENA EDWARDS
CBD, cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive agent in marijuana, is now being used to treat heroin, cocaine, and opioid drug addictions because the need for treatment is on the rise.
Since 2000, nearly 400,000 Americans from an opioid-related death alone. That number is only slightly smaller than the number of soldiers that died in World War II.
CBD is an active compound in found the plant cannabis. Unlike THC, CBD is not addictive and it has health benefits, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. CBD affects the nervous system. There are two main receptors that are responsible for making it work: CB1 and CB2. When either one of those receptors binds with a cannabinoid, a type of chemical compound, it can affect the level of certain neurotransmitters.
On May 21st, a study was conducted and published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in which 42 people with a heroin addiction, used CBD to abstain their desire for the drug.
Participants in the experiment were shown “‘cues’ intended to trigger a drug craving”(Rettner 2019). They were shown things such as videos of people doing heroin or items, such as syringes, that could indicate drug use. Showing someone with a drug addiction something like that in “an uncontrolled setting can contribute to drug relapse”(Rettner 2019). The experiment that was conducted was controlled. And prior to the experiment, participants were given a dose of CBD or a placebo. The experiment resulted in, the participants who received the CBD, instead of the placebo, experience lower drug cravings when shown the cues.
Another study, in which researchers administered CBD to animal subjects once every 24 hours for 7 days, reported that the CBD had been effective in preventing the subject’s desire for the drug and it diminished their addict-like characteristics prior to taking CBD. It also prevented the test subjects from relapsing for 5 months. The test subjects also experienced lower amounts of stress and anxiety after receiving the CBD.
The need for treatment in relation to drug addictions is increasing. More and more people are dying each day. Whether they overdosed or got into a car accident because while they were high, their mental state was impaired. CBD does have promising qualities and it might just be the answer people were looking for.
Works Cited
Cadena, Aaron. "Study Finds Using CBD for Addiction Helps Prevent Relapses." A Medium Corporation, 3 Apr. 2018, medium.com/cbd-origin/study-finds-using-cbd-for-addiction-helps-prevent-relapses-d327513a859d.
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Kounang, Nadia. "Study Finds CBD Effective in Treating Heroin Addiction." CNN, 21 May 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/05/21/health/heroin-opioid-addiction-cbd-study/index.html.
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National Drug Overdose Deaths. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dec. 2018, www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates.
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Rettner, Rachel. "CBD May Reduce Drug Cravings in People with Heroin Addiction, Small Study Finds." Live Science, 21 May 2019, www.livescience.com/65530-cbd-heroin-addiction.html.
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Richter, Nicole. "CBD to Treat Drug Addiction: How it Works [And How You Can Use it]." Marijuana Break, 9 Nov. 2018, www.marijuanabreak.com/cbd-to-treat-drug-addiction-how-it-works-and-how-you-can-use-it.