Cannabis addiction can be treated with… cannabis

A clinical trial held by the University of Sydney and NSW Health has provided strong evidence that so-called cannabinoid agonist medication could help tackle dependency on cannabis — one of the most widely used drugs globally and a leading cause of drug treatment episodes in Australia. The results of the study have been published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The cannabis concentrate known as nabiximols, which targets receptors in the brain and comprises cannabidiol (CBD) and the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is ingested by being sprayed under the tongue, thus avoiding the health impacts associated with smoking cannabis such as respiratory issues. Alternative medical cannabis products exist, but these are only available through special access schemes and also require TGA approval.

“The principles are very similar to nicotine replacement; you are providing patients with a medicine which is safer than the drug they’re already using and linking this with medical and counselling support to help people address their illicit cannabis use,” said lead author Professor Nick Lintzeris, from the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health.

A 12-week outpatient clinical trial of 128 participants saw patients take an average dose of about 18 sprays a day, with each spray of 0.1 mL comprising 2.7 mg of THC and 2.5 mg of CBD. The medicine was combined with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and other therapeutic support for a holistic approach.

Participants treated with nabiximols were found to use significantly less illicit cannabis than patients randomly allocated to placebo medication. Withdrawal symptoms and cravings were also said to be suppressed, with improvements in patients’ physical and psychological wellbeing. These results are particularly promising given that only cannabis users who had previously unsuccessfully tried to curb their use were recruited to the study, Prof Lintzeris noted.

The results followed an earlier study by the same research team that had previously shown nabiximols reduce withdrawal symptoms in a short-term hospital treatment program; however, Prof Lintzeris said this is the “first big study” to show that medication can be safe and effective in helping patients achieve longer term changes in their cannabis use. It is thus an important step in addressing the lack of effective treatments, he said, with four in five patients currently relapsing to regular use within six months of medical or psychological interventions.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/stokkete

Please follow us and share on Twitter and Facebook. You can also subscribe for FREE to our weekly newsletters and bimonthly magazine.