Monday, December 28, 2009

Cannibis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs.

There was an interesting article in the Harm Reduction journal on 12/03/09 entitled "Cannibis As A Substitute For Alcohol And Other Drugs." It is a descriptive study of 350 patients in a medical group in Berkeley California who substituted cannibis for alcohol and other drugs.

40% of patients said that they substituted cannibis for alcohol.

65.8% of patients said that they substituted cannibis for prescription drugs.

26% of patients said that they subsituted cannibis for other illicit drugs.

65% of patients said they substituted cannibis for other substances because it had fewer adverse side effects.

57.4% of patients said that they substituted cannibis for other drugs because it provided better symptom relief.

I found this study interesting because I have observed the use of cannibis in my private practice clients who often report beneficial effects. It seems to me that cannibis is less toxic and has fewer behavioral and social negative consequences than alcohol. I have also noted that cannibis seems to have fewer adverse side effects and better symtpom relief than prescription drugs.

As a society we would be much better off to raise the drinking age to 35 and legalize cannibis and tax it like we do alcohol.

You can access the article by clicking here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am a recovering alcoholic & crack addict. I was struggling to stay clean my 1st 9 months when I finally began weening off of the 18 anti psychotics & deppressents I had been perscibed by Dr.s. The side effects were Debilitating & kept putting me in a place to relapse. I began using marijuana in place of the perscriptions & found it far more effective for my pain & mood swings while at the same time I didn't have the severe side effects I'd had with pills. I had no desire to use alcohol or other stronger drugs while using pot. I have been a user of all drugs & alcohol since I was 13 & find that marijuana has been effective in keeping me clean & sober for 3 years. However the AA program which I belong to does not see this as a benifit. They use ciggaretts for their drug of choice. most of them unable to wait out the meeting for a drag. I do not attend meetings on pot & feel fine going without unless medicating my symptoms. I do awknowldge there are side effects but none as severe as the perscriptions Ive been given in the past. I now live where it is legal for medical use & have gotten my card. My only problem is AA has been a huge part of my recovery & I do not have a sponsor due to my medical choice. I am looking for groups or individuals in my situation for support. I really hope there are some out there.

statusquid said...

I think there is a significant group of us like you - I was a regular attendee of AA for 15 years and had some OK success in the program,overall it helped in many ways, and I owe an important PART of my sobriety to AA. However, medical marijuana has made my long-term sobriety a reality, among other things helping to find the spiritual component that AA is firmly grounded in. There is an emerging movement to adding MMJ to the additions recovery mix - long overdue, and we all need to speak up to help this save lives.

AnaKarenina said...

how are you doing now anonymous?
i found this article and this comment years later after it was posted....
hope you found some good support.
checkout Dr. Karen Kan "Ascencion 1 and 2" Audio's on the show "FromHeartacheToJoy.com"
Playing those 2 audios over and over again all day long has helped me tremendously in all kinds of ways.