Medical Cannabis Insights, Part II: How Cannabis Helps Opioid Addiction and A Discussion on …

In this roundtable interview series, we speak to each of the organizers to learn more about them and what attends can expect from the practicum.

Founded in 2016 by Medicinal Genomics, the upcoming CannMed conference—taking place September 29–October 1 in Pasadena, California—will feature an exciting full-day CannMed Medical Practicum organized by Bonni Goldstein, MD; Dustin Sulak, DO; Kevin Spelman, PhD, MCPP; and Eloise Theisen, NP, AGPCNP-BC.

In a 2017 survey of 2897 medical cannabis patients, 97% reported that they were able to decrease the amount of opiates they consumed when they used cannabis.

And while there is a need for more clinical trials to demonstrate the effectiveness of cannabinoids for opioid addiction, many cannabis clinicians have successfully helped their patients eliminate their opioids.

There can be competition between cannabinoids and other drugs when they are metabolized by the same enzyme, resulting in what is called “drug-drug interactions.” These interactions can result in the blockage of metabolism, leading to accumulation of the drug in the body, which can cause an increase in unwanted side effects.

It is very hard to predict these drug interactions since there are many differences in the way that people metabolize medications.

Kevin Spelman, PhD, MCPP: While there are theoretical concerns of cannabis preparations negatively interacting with other drugs, clinicians are not observing drug-cannabis interactions.

Anyone using cannabis with other medications needs to be followed by a knowledgeable cannabis clinician who can adjust the medications accordingly and ensure that there are no contraindications.

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