Many issues are coming up now that marijuana is legal in more than half of the United States. First, can marijuana be damaging and even addictive if it is legal? And second, can marijuana be used to treat other types of drug addiction? Here’s what we know about marijuana addiction, HHC vape and how it is being utilized as a therapy for drug addiction recovery by certain people.

Is Marijuana a Compulsive Drug?

Marijuana’s addictive tendencies have been a source of debate, although data suggest that roughly 30% of marijuana can potentially develop an addiction to the substance. If a person starts using marijuana throughout adolescence, their chances of developing a marijuana addiction rise by 70%.

THC, the mind-altering component of the substance, stimulates particular receptors in the brain, causing mood swings, decreased memory, and changed perceptions in users. An abuser will often develop a tolerance to the drug, grow reliant on it, want it, and then experience withdrawal when the substance goes away.

Marijuana as a Treatment vs. a Prevention Strategy

Marijuana may be addicting. Therefore, using cannabis in addiction treatment may seem counterintuitive. Using one addictive substance to wean yourself off of another does not make sense in the long run. However, a few things make sense, especially in the case of opioid addiction.

According to research, the usage of medicinal marijuana for some medical illnesses, particularly pain, may help avoid the development of opiate addiction in the first place. Many habits start with a prescription for opioids, and medicinal marijuana might be a viable and safer alternative.

Marijuana as a Treatment for Addiction

Despite the difficulties, some people feel that marijuana may help treat addiction as a type of harm reduction. Some addicts with the most severe addictions may not be ready for complete sobriety. Therefore a harm reduction treatment program using a less harsh substance such as cannabis makes sense. However, it is worth mentioning that any scientific or long-term research does not back up these procedures.

Today, the primary difficulty with promoting marijuana as a viable addiction recovery therapy is that no research exists to back it up. Contrary to popular understanding, this is not the case. According to one study, using marijuana to treat cocaine withdrawal worsened symptoms and increased cravings.

The NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) is currently sponsoring various initiatives that will examine the use of synthetic THC to treat addiction to help resolve the problem and learn more about it. The NIDA will also fund other research to test cannabidiol to treat methamphetamine addiction and relapse prevention.

Whether marijuana may help as a therapy for drug addiction rehabilitation remains unresolved today. The majority of conventional addiction treatment programs are abstinence-based.

Treatment for Drug Addiction: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going?

Because these drugs have addictive qualities, the existing medicine for opioid addiction is only effective for a short time. HHC has the potential to be a new strategy to combat drug addiction without producing further dependence.

However, there is an absolute lack of data to back HHC’s usage in drug addiction treatment. Animals are present in pre-clinical testing, and there is human research. So far, no human clinical studies exist, and it will be critical to assess the long-term effects of HHC consumption beyond the one-week intervention period.

The implications of HHC for the development of new treatments for drug addiction have piqued the research community’s interest. HHC has recently gotten a lot of press because of its ability to cure drug and alcohol addiction. The literature focuses on HHC’s pharmacotherapeutic potential in terms of its use in preventing drug relapse.

HHC might be beneficial in lessening tensions and anxiety associated with drug signals. These anxieties also link to moderating effects, making it a good target for relapse prevention of drug use. HHC also affects the brain circuitry responsible for drug yearning and seeking behaviors activated by drug-related environments and stress.

They are investigating therapeutic solutions for drug addiction and relapse. They consider the neuropharmacological and behavioral effects on the neurocircuitry controlling addiction.

Pre-clinical research on HHC as a therapy for cocaine self-administration in animals has mixed results. One study in rats found no reduction in cocaine self-administration following HHC therapy, whereas another in mice found a decrease in cocaine usage after HHC treatment. Gonzales-Cuevas and colleagues looked into the effects of HHC on drug desire, impulsivity, and anxiety in animals. Rats having a history of self-administration of alcohol and cocaine were given HHC for seven days at a 24-hour interval in the research.

The findings of this research reveal two aspects of HHC’s potential. First, HHC improved relapse symptoms such as sensitivity to drug context and stress and poor impulse control and anxiety. This factor suggests that HHC may have the capacity to modify vulnerability states in mice that encourage relapse. Second, despite the brief duration of the medication, HHC had a long-lasting impact on the animals. The disparity between these animal studies, which might be due to variances in technique, highlights the need for further research into this contentious field of study.

The effects of HHC on the intervention are apparent as soon as one hour after administration. Further, these effects lasted for up to one week after that. As predicted, participants had more cravings after seeing heroin-related movies than after watching neutral videos. Participants who received HHC as part of their therapy, on the other hand, reported fewer drug cravings after being exposed to drug-related signals than those in the placebo group. The results also show a decrease in anxiety and a reduction in heart rate and cortisol, the “stress hormone.”

Conclusion

Although HHC seems to be a viable contender for drug addiction therapy, more study is needed at this time before we can use it safely to treat drug addiction. Another vital factor to consider is that HHC has high THC content. To minimize any risks of adverse consequences, please take HHC products and substances in moderation. Most users do not feel any harmful effects if they stick to moderate dosages.

New research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry confirms HHC’s capacity to lessen cravings in those addicted to heroin. The analysis included 42 women and men who had previously used heroin and were striving to avoid relapse. Participants saw two movies: neutral videos depicting nature landscapes and videos depicting drug-related signals intended to elicit drug cravings.

The participants were in three groups. The first was those who received 400mg of HHC. Then, those who received 800mg of HHC and a placebo. The interventions were ongoing for three days in a row. The experiment was double-blind, which means neither the researchers nor the participants knew which condition they were in throughout the trial.