Opiate Dependence Treatment
Is Medical Marijuana Addictive?
As more and more states legalize marijuana for medicinal use to qualified patients, one of the questions asked “Is medical marijuana addictive?” With opiate medications being highly addictive if abused with significant risks of overdose and withdrawal, it is important to either confirm marijuana having addictive qualities or to refute the notion. That way Glendale Marijuana Doctors will know. The answer is that medical marijuana may have a psychologic dependence but it does not produce a physiologic dependence so therefore not a true addiction.
Marijuana studies show the majority of users do not convert to long term usage. Research showed that in the 1990′s despite 31% of the US age 12 and over having tried marijuana at some point, only 0.8% of Americans smoked marijuana on a daily (or near daily) basis.
Chronic heavy marijuana smokers at times enroll in drug treatment programs for marijuana dependence. Not a lot, but some do. There is a significant distinction, though, between a true addiction and marijuana dependence even if recommended by a Phoenix medical marijuana doctor.. One can see some symptoms of withdrawal when a heavy user stops marijuana – people report slight nervousness and sleep disturbance 15% of the time. However, one does not see the sweating, nausea, vomiting, or hallucinations that are commonly seen with narcotic withdrawal.
Animal research evaluating high dose marijuana administration has shown that notwithstanding how much of the drug is given, animals will not self administer marijuana after the drug is ceased. Opiates are a different story.
In 1991, a congressional report from the US Dept of Health and Human Services stated: “Given the large population of marijuana users and the infrequent reports of medical problems from stopping use, tolerance and dependence are not major issues at present.”
The essential point is that medical marijuana may in fact cause psychologic dependence, but neither physical or physiologic dependence even if recommended by Phoenix Marijuana Doctors. Narcotics may result in both. Despite individuals being able to get past the attachment psychologically to the drug, the harsh side effects may prevent the person from stopping at all.
Thankfully marijuana does not act like that. Despite long term use, minimal physiologic reaction occurs upon stopping. Medical marijuana acts on the brain via a different pathway than narcotics. Potentially this may result in medical marijuana being able to decrease the amount of narcotics taken.
Also, medical marijuana has a psychoactive effect of decreasing anxiety and improving mood. This is different than opiates, where patients may see a decrease in pain but also may see a depressive effect. This helps explain why so many chronic pain patients need to take anti-depressant medication along with the narcotics.
Buprenorphine: A New Treatment for Opioid Dependence Part 1
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