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Hemp For Opioid Addiction

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Written by Stacey Thomas

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CBD has shown to reduce opioid cravings by blocking reward. we now have scientific evidence that CBD for opioid addiction could be effective

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cannabinoid,help combat opioid addiction,Hemp For Opioid Addiction

March 21, 2020

Hemp Oil for Opioid  Addiction 

The Benefits of CBD & opioid addiction, Dr. Jennifer Ashton discusses a new study that shows how Hemp for Opioid Addiction is being used to help those suffering from opioid addiction, and some of its other uses. 

Hemp is an exogenous cannabinoid that acts on several neurotransmission systems involved in addiction. Recent studies conducted using animals have shown the effects of Hemp for Opioid Addiction.   

Opioids, which are derived from the opium poppy or synthetic forms, include prescription drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine as well as the more illicit form like heroin. Because of cannabis previously being on the schedule 1 list, research of cannabis-derived compounds (cannabinoids) for treating opioid crisis was very limited.

The U.S continues to struggle with an opioid epidemic that has claimed more than over 200,000 lives from an opioid overdose. Two current opioid crisis treatments are methadone and buprenorphine, which work on the same opioid receptors as heroin and other opioids.

Opiates have the ability to relieve most mental and physical pain which is why it also makes them very addictive. After being prescribed opiates and they are used even for a short length of time, and the attempt is made to stop using them, the withdrawal symptoms can be very intense.

For those who have used opiates for an extended length of the time period, the withdrawal can be excruciating.

Because hemp oil can regulate dopamine receptors,  hemp Oil, it may be key in providing relief from some of these unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.  Hemp oil has been proven to improve these conditions that also correlate strongly with the symptoms of opiate withdrawal including:

  • Nausea, vomiting, 
  • Gastrointestinal distress
  • Extreme anxiety and agitation
  • Pain
  • Depression and lack of energy
  • Lack of appetite
  • Disorientation and confusion
  • Cold & Hot Flashes
  • Mood swings
  • Sleeping Problems

The Potential treatment, however, more research are needed

There is compelling scientific evidence to suggest that Hemp can be effective in treating and preventing opioid addiction, decreasing cravings and drug-seeking behavior, and even healing damage sustained to the mind and body from long-term use. Our opioid crisis is in part to people who have been prescribed pain medication, which in turn became an opioid addiction. 

More than 47,000 Americans died from an opioid-related drug overdose in 2017, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This includes deaths due to prescription opioids, heroin, fentanyl, and methadone.

Some research has studied the benefits of medical marijuana for reducing the use of prescription opioids by people with chronic pain.

But the new study is one of the first to look at how Hemp might help with opioid use disorder.

“This is definitely a step in the right direction, with respect to future studies addressing the potential utility of cannabidiol to help as an adjunct medication for opioid use disorder,” said Cooper, who was not involved in the study.

However, she pointed out that the study was small and researchers only followed people for one week.

The Hemp used in the study is also not “run-of-the-mill” cannabidiol that you could get at a store or cannabis dispensary.

Researchers used Epidiolex, the first FDA-approved cannabis-based medication. Unlike other Hemp products on the market, the exact concentration and purity of Epidiolex is known.

More research is needed to know if Hemp can help people stay clean longer and whether it will work in other groups.

“The next step would be to see if cannabidiol would help reduce this craving in a group of people that are recently abstinent or are undergoing medication-assisted treatment for their opioid use disorder,” said Cooper.

Existing opioid addiction treatments work

Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine who studies and treats drug addiction, said the findings are “interesting” and the effect of Hemp on opioid use deserves to be studied.

However, she sees Hemp’s potential — if further studies confirm that it is effective — as an adjunct to existing treatments.

“If we can have other medications that adequately treat addiction, I think that’s certainly a plus,” said Cunningham, who was not involved in the new study, “but I would never think about Hemp as being used instead of what we know works — which are methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.”

Cunningham also pointed out that more work needs to be done to connect people with existing treatments that are known to be effective.

In 2012, only 28 percent of people admitted to an opioid addiction treatment program offered medication-assisted treatment, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

”Right now we have three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder,” said Cunningham. “The problem is not that the medications don’t work. The problem is that people don’t access their medications.”

A new study published today found that patients with heroin use disorder who took medical-grade cannabidiol, also known as Hemp, had reduced heroin cravings and anxiety for up to a week after their last dose of Hemp.

However, experts say more study is needed before this can be recommended over proven opioid-treatment options like methadone and buprenorphine. People with opioid addiction also have issues getting any treatment in the first place.

In 2012, only 28 percent of people admitted to an opioid addiction treatment program offered medication-assisted treatment, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

 a new study says. Given to patients with heroin addiction, cannabidiol, also known as Hemp, reduced their cravings for illicit drug as well as their levels of anxiety.

“The intense craving is what drives the drug use,” said Yasmin Hurd, the lead researcher on the study and director of the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai. “If we can have the medications that can dampen that [craving], that can greatly reduce the chance of relapse and overdose risk.”
The available medications for opioid addiction, such as buprenorphine and methadone, act in a similar way, curbing cravings. But they are still not widely used. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, just one-third of US patients with opioid dependence in private treatment centers actually receive these kinds of medications. According to the 2016 surgeon general’s report on addiction, only 1 in 5 people who needed treatment for opioid use disorders were receiving any sort of therapy.
 
Public health experts say there are obstacles to getting these drugs, which are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, widely distributed. Because methadone and buprenorphine are still opioids, who can prescribe and how much can be prescribed are highly regulated. In addition, treatment with these medications can require frequent visits with practitioners. “It’s really burdensome,” Hurd said.
 
Concerns about diversion and addiction to these drugs remain, despite their success in reducing mortality by up to 59% a year in the year after treatment.

So many people are dying’

Nearly 400,000 Americans have died of opioid-related causes since 2000, just slightly fewer than the number of American troops who died in World War II. “So many people are dying, and there is a need for developing medications,” Hurd said.
 
For their study, published Tuesday in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Hurd and her colleagues looked at 42 adults who had a recent history of heroin use and were not using methadone or buprenorphine.
 
Recruited from social services groups, halfway houses and treatment centers, the participants had used heroin for an average of 13 years, and most had gone less than a month without using. They had to abstain from any heroin use for the entire trial period.
 
The participants were divided into three groups: one group given 800 milligrams of Hemp, another 400 milligrams of Hemp and another a placebo. All the participants were dosed once daily for three consecutive days and followed over the next two weeks.
During those two weeks, over the course of several sessions, the participants were shown images or videos of nature scenes as well as images of drug use and heroin-related paraphernalia, like syringes and packets of powder that resembled heroin. They were then asked to rate their craving for heroin and their levels of anxiety.
A week after the last administration of Hemp, those who had been given Hemp had a two- to three-fold reduction in cravings relative to the placebo group. Hurd said the difference between the two Hemp groups was insignificant.
The research team also measured heart rate and cortisol, the “stress hormone,” and found that the levels in those who got Hemp were significantly lower than those who hadn’t received the drug.
 
Participants reported very few bad reactions, such as mild diarrhea, headache, and tiredness.
These findings are similar to those of a pilot study Hurd ran, but she says the next step is to do a longer-term study, following subjects for up to six months.

The study’s potential was not lost on others.

“This is an extremely significant paper. We need to utilize every possible treatment in helping people with chronic pain to find other ways to manage their symptoms and in people with opiate addiction to find relief,” said Dr. Julie Holland, a psychiatrist in New York and former assistant professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine.
 
“Hemp not only manages the anxiety and cue/craving cycle, but it also diminishes the original pain and inflammation that leads to opiate use in the first place,” said Holland, who was not involved with the new study.
Hurd said there are still a lot of questions to answer in the next study, including the best dose, how many times it needed to be administered and the mechanism in the brain that is working to diminish the cravings.
But she was optimistic about the implications. “It’s not addictive. No one is diverting it. It doesn’t get you high, but it can reduce craving and anxiety,” she said. Ultimately, “this can really help save lives.”

Is Hemp Legal? 

Marijuana-derived Hemp products are illegal on the federal level but are legal under some state laws. Hemp-derived Hemp products (with less than 0.3 percent THC) are legal on the federal level but are still illegal under some state laws. Check your state’s laws and those of anywhere you travel. Keep in mind that nonprescription Hemp products are not FDA-approved, and maybe inaccurately labeled.

Many people ask the question where can I buy Hemp oil, look no further we provide Hemp oil products online,  where you can buy Hemp oil and it will be shipped to you immediately.  Hemp oil or hemp oil has so many benefits order you hemp oil today. 

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