Ex-B.C. health minister says pot promising substitute for opioid addiction
Abbotsford NewsJan 13, 2018
Now a vice-president at a medical cannabis company, Lake said there is preliminary evidence that shows marijuana can help people with addictions reduce their use of hard drugs and ease the painful symptoms of withdrawal.
"I'm not saying it's the answer to the opioid crisis. I'm saying it's one of the options we should explore," said Lake, who chose not to run in last spring's provincial election.
"It's very promising and deserving of further research and there's no better place to do that than in
Lake, who was hired last August by
There have been "intriguing" early studies that have suggested cannabis might play a beneficial role in lowering the risk of overdose deaths, said M-J Milloy, a research scientist with the BC Centre on Substance Use.
A 2014 study in the peer-reviewed
A Canadian paper, published last year in
Milloy conducted a study that showed marijuana may help wean people off crack cocaine. His team tracked 122 Vancouver-area crack users over a three-year period and found they reported using the harder drug less often when they opted to consume pot.
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He said there's a need for more formal, controlled trials on the effect of cannabis on opioid use, and he and fellow scientists at the B.C. centre plan to undertake some of that work.
"We certainly have reports from people who are suffering from opioid use disorder that cannabis helps them mitigate the feelings of withdrawal," said Milloy, who will participate in the talk with Lake on Sunday.
"We also know that many people suffering from things like trauma and chronic pain, which are often the roots of opioid addiction, that they also report that cannabis is useful for them."
Some addictions specialists are skeptical of the idea, Lake noted, as they're concerned about simply substituting one drug for another. More study is needed, and Lake said he hopes
While Lake may have a financial interest in promoting medical cannabis, he said he thinks companies must be cautious about "overhyping" the benefits of the drug.
"It's not a panacea. It's not a cure-all. It very much is dependent on the individual, the condition they are dealing with and their individual response," he said.
Lake said he's come to believe
Blyth said a lot of people who have received marijuana through the foundation have stopped using opioids or cut back, though she said she didn't have concrete numbers.
"It helps them go to sleep. It helps them ease physical pain. It helps them ease some of the tension they're dealing with," she said. "They know it's properly dosed. They know what they're taking."
For several years, the
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Eden gathered its own data prior to joining forces with Walsh, and found there was a 50 per cent reduction in opiate use among people accessing the program, said
"It was really just to stave off some of the withdrawal symptoms, which can be very debilitating," he said.
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