Alcoholism causes around 88,000 deaths a year, without including the deaths caused by drunk driving or the shortening of the lifespan of heavy drinkers. With several programs and institutions designed to help addicts, alcoholics have a 50 percent chance of complete recovery, which is not the most optimistic statistic.
Cannabis appears to be a good method for helping addicts safely distance themselves from other more dangerous drugs like barbiturates, heroin, and alcohol, aiding in their recovery and potentially saving their lives. While the marijuana plant has been long considered a gateway drug, research and study has proved that it can act as a substitute for other drugs and produce far less negative consequences.
A study from 2009 claimed that 40 percent of users used cannabis as a substitute for alcohol, 26 percent used it as a substitute from other illicit drugs and 66% of them used it to substitute prescription drugs. Scientists and doctors claim that cannabis has much more manageable and less harmful side effects than the aforementioned drugs.
Views on cannabis have changed over the years, with scientists and celebrity doctors regarding it to a much higher standard and from government programs eliminating it from their harmful drugs list. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, one of the loudest opponents of medicinal cannabis has changed his views over the years, and now believes that marijuana is a viable solution for some illnesses.
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Doctors and those who’re working to solve alcohol addiction have been quick to point out that patients suffering from withdrawal experience similar symptoms to patients undergoing chemotherapy, including nausea, sleeplessness, muscle cramps, fatigue, vomiting and appetite loss. It would be reasonable for patients who are undergoing withdrawal and who are receiving treatment for alcohol addiction to turn to cannabis to find some relief.
