According to clinical psychologist Shirley Stormo who works for Gosnold on Cape Cod, an addiction treatment center in Massachusetts, medical marijuana is safer than opiates and has begun to focus her treatment efforts to prevent opiate addiction through marijuana use. Stormo has provisional approval to open a medical marijuana dispensary called Compassionate Care Clinics and hopes to help patients avoid opiates through this method if the dispensary is approved. She indicates that medical marijuana is safer than opiate use because it does not have a physically addictive component and thus no potential for overdoses or death.
Another medical professional, Thor Agustsson,a doctor with Integr8Heath, says that medical marijuana can be used as part of an exit strategy to for individuals addicted to opiates, alcohol or cocaine. Agustsson says some surveys and small sample studies show that when cannabis is taken appropriately, it can help individuals reduce the use of highly toxic substances. Although no controlled studies have yet been done, Agustsson believes medical marijuana may eventually be widely used in addiction treatment.
Other medical professionals believe that research is still preliminary. Kevin Hill, a McLean Hospital psychiatrist, believe it is risky to replace one harmful, addictive substance with another one. Hill indicates that about 9% of adults and 16% of adolescents who use it become addicted to marijuana. Additionally, Hill believes that medical marijuana will not make a difference in the rate of opiate addiction.
Others in the addiction recovery field feel that use of medical marijuana to treat opiate addiction is directly in contrast to what recovery is all about, namely abstinence and sobriety. Stormo, however, does not see a conflict in using medical marijuana to treat opiate addiction as she is interested in helping individuals with a variety of medical problems. She added that those who are fearful about the effects of medical marijuana would change their mind of they spoke to someone who has benefited from the drug.
