CANNAConsumer Magazine August 2017 | Page 42

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The Key to Treating Alcoholism with Medical Marijuana

Alcoholism is a pervasive chemical affliction. Marijuana, which is far more benign, could be used in treatment

Most Americans know someone who is suffering from addiction in one form or another — alcoholism is perhaps the most pervasive of these chemical afflictions. Furthermore, the use of alcohol has become an integral part of almost all ritualized social activities across Western culture. While controlled, social drinking doesn’t pose any adverse physical or psychological side effects, heavy drinking certainly does. For those heavily afflicted alcoholics, medical cannabis can be beneficial as both an alcohol substitute and sedative.

Alcoholism

Drinking on a daily basis can have irreversible consequences on the body and mind. To illustrate, studies show that “[d]ecades of heavy daily heavy drinking can lead to physical dependence on alcohol and life-threatening withdrawal symptoms if one stops drinking without tapering off or entering a medical detox”. Moreover, one of the key elements of alcoholism is “binge-drinking,” which is evidenced in an addict’s inability to stop drinking once they start. These alcohol binges, or “benders,” often last several days for the seasoned alcoholic and more-often-than-not do irreparable damage to one’s family and professional life. Point being, for alcoholics, the only real choice in beating their affliction is to entirely quit drinking. With this notion in mind, many forward thinking recovery programs are replacing the daily use of alcohol with that of medical marijuana.

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Homeless Activist Using Medical Cannabis To Fight Addiction

Amy Farah Weiss, founder of Saint Francis Homelessness Challenge, is working on a new strategy to address opioid addiction by providing houseless residents with access to medicinal cannabis.

"One of the issues at the encampments at present is that there are a lot of people using harsh drugs," Weiss told Hoodline. "Heroin, meth, crack—they're injecting drugs into their body and there is the risk of overdose and infections and spreading disease."

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