Cannabis against drugs
Cannabis medicine will be able to get rid of the dependence of marijuana and tobacco smokers
Marijuana, or cannabis, is one of the most used drugs in the world. But although it is called a "soft" drug, smoking marijuana can lead to serious addiction. Paradoxically, but, according to scientists, you can get rid of it with the help of pills with an extract obtained from cannabis. According to preliminary data, the same drug can help "nicotine" smokers. Now scientists are studying the possibilities of using the drug to get rid of alcohol addiction.
Mankind has long known a narcotic drug derived from cannabis. The ceremony of inhaling cannabis vapors among the Scythians was described by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, and in the famous "frozen" graves of the Pazyryk culture (V–III centuries BC) on the Ukok plateau in the Altai Mountains, all the necessary accessories for such a ritual were found, including a brazier dish with charred hemp seeds. In later times, cannabis was used as an analgesic, antiepileptic and anti-rheumatic agent.
Nowadays, cannabis and its psychoactive substances (cannabinoids) are allowed for medical use in some countries, including several North American states. They are used to relieve nausea after chemotherapy, chronic pain and cramps, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, etc.
Although cannabis is considered a soft drug, one in ten of the people who smoke marijuana becomes addicted. The number of people seeking treatment has been growing in recent years. This is associated with the appearance of skank – a variety of cannabis with a particularly rapid and strong narcotic effect.
Among more than a hundred active substances of cannabis, the most important are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). CBD does not possess, unlike TNS, pronounced psychoactive properties, but, on the contrary, has a calming non-narcotic effect. In other words, it is able to reduce anxiety caused by the toxic effects of TNS, and relieve withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit smoking marijuana.
To test this assumption, the researchers conducted a trial on 82 dependent smokers. For four weeks, the subjects took pills containing cannabidiol in three dosages or a placebo. It turned out that the average dose of 400 mg worked best. As tests conducted six months after the experiment showed, it allowed to almost halve the amount of marijuana that its participants smoked. By the way, judging by the results of a previous study, Sativex tablets with cannabis extract containing both CBD and THC can also help such people.
Scientists from the team of I. McGregor from the University of Sydney are now studying the possibilities of using cannabidiol for the treatment of alcohol addiction. After all, it is known that severe anxiety and the risk of seizures are the main troubles with alcohol detoxification, and CBD is the best way to relieve these symptoms. According to preliminary data obtained as a result of a previous experiment, cannabidiol can also help ordinary "nicotine" smokers get rid of their addiction.
December 14, 2017 WHO recommended removing CBD from the international lists of controlled substances. Since that time, cannabidiol has been widely used in cosmetology, in the production of soap, beer and even confectionery. In the form of a dietary supplement, CBD can be bought in pharmacies and health food stores, although it is contained there in much lower concentrations than those used in the experiment. However, in Russia, as expected, the situation with cannabis and its derivatives is not so simple. Although CBD is not included in the list of narcotic and psychotropic substances, there is always a chance to be charged with drug smuggling or propaganda.
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