Marijuana May Lower Use Of Alcohol, Harder Drugs

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Marijuana could help those who struggle with addiction by replacing the need for more harmful substances, according to recent studies.

The latest data, published in the journal Addiction Research & Theory, came from a survey of more than 400 medical cannabis patients across four dispensaries in B.C. When asked whether they ever used cannabis to replace pharmaceuticals, alcohol or illicit drugs, over 75% said they did.

The largest portion, 68%, indicated using cannabis as a substitute for prescription drugs. 41% also said they used it for alcohol and 36% for other illicit substances, such as heroin or cocaine.

Philippe Lucas, study co-author and research affiliate of the Centre for Addictions Research of BC, says the findings support cannabis as a potential treatment for drug addiction. He believes cannabis could act as an ‘exit drug’ when it comes to substance abuse – as opposed to a gateway.

But more research needs to be done, since the study was only meant to identify a substitution effect and did not attempt to quantify it. Still, Lucas, who first came across the idea through his involvement with the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, believes there is now strong evidence that a substitution effect exists.

“These are still early days in terms of substitution research. What’s clear and consistent from all those who studied cannabis substitution is there is a phenomenon there. We just need to elucidate what exactly the details are.”

But the study was not the first to describe the phenomenon. In fact, it was conducted, in part, to replicate past work by another one of the study’s co-authors, Amanda Reiman of The School of Social Welfare at University of California, Berkeley.

Reiman, who is also involved with the Drug Policy Alliance, published two studies on cannabis substitution between 2000-2009.

The results, obtained from patients at a dispensary in California, were remarkably similar. Out of the 350 patients surveyed in 2009, 66% reported using cannabis to replace prescription drugs, 40% to replace alcohol and 26% to replace other illicit substances.

Reiman concludes that marijuana could help those who struggle with addiction to more harmful substances like alcohol. And this typically isn’t the average alcohol user, she explains.

“When we talk about using cannabis as a substitute for alcohol, we’re not necessarily talking about the average individual. We’re talking about this as a way to intervene on the 10% of alcohol consumers who are the heaviest drinkers, and who are responsible for a great percentage of alcohol-related problems.”

“I think that’s really where we should focus our efforts. On moving that population of hazardous drinkers away from alcohol and towards a substance that’s not going to have the same impact such as cannabis,” she adds.

Lucas holds a similar belief. If cannabis policy were to become more lax, he predicts adults would likely shift away from other substances and towards cannabis as a safer alternative.

“You might see a slight increase in the use of cannabis,” Lucas says. “But you would subsequently see a decrease in the use of alcohol, illicit substances and pharmaceuticals that would have a net public health cost savings and lead to public health benefits.”

Source Leaf Science