Marijuana helps people with substance misuse disorders stay off opioids or reduce their use, maintain treatment and manage withdrawal symptoms, a new federally funded study from the University of Southern California finds. The study indicated that access to marijuana could offset the harms of the opioid epidemic, either by helping people limit the use or giving them an offramp altogether.
Marijuana co-use “assisted in developing patterns of reduced opioid use in a number of ways: 1) maintain opioid cessation and/or adhere to opioid use disorder treatment by managing cessation-specific symptoms, 2) manage symptoms of opioid withdrawal episodically, and 3) decrease opioid use due to low barrier accessibility of cannabis.”
Several participants described their preference for accessing marijuana products from licensed dispensaries and their appreciation for the increased number of retail locations in their areas, linking it to their positive changes in opioid use.
Another main takeaway from the study was the importance of ease of access to cannabis. Several participants described their preference for accessing marijuana products from licensed dispensaries and their appreciation for the increased number of retail locations in their areas, linking it to their positive changes in opioid use.
