Cannabis Success Story: Opiate Withdrawal
March 24, 201022 CommentsDisease Treatment
cannabis,
Dr Sean Breen,
heroin addiction,
medical cannabis of southern california,
Medical Marijuana,
methadone,
morphine,
norco,
opiate addiction,
oxycontin,
percocet,
soma,
subutex,
vicodin,
www.mcsocal.com
This morning I had the pleasure of taking care of a 24 year old male who has been sober from heroine use for two years. He has managed to maintain sobriety using methadone and suboxone (Subutex). Both of these medications are opiates as well and can be equally addictive. Today was his last day of using subutex and he plans on using cannabis to manage any withdrawal symptoms that he experiences after finally stopping all opiate medications!
Symptoms of opiate withdrawal are:
EARLY: Agitation, Anxiety, Muscle Aches, Increased tearing, runny nose, insomnia, sweating
LATE: Abdominal cramping, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Amazingly the effects of cannabinoids can reduce or eliminate the majority of symptoms of opiate withdrawal. Cannabis can reduce anxiety and agitation, improve sleep and helps normalize the digestive tract.
Keep in mind that 9% of the population is at any given time abusing prescription drugs; the majority being opiate narcotics.
For this reason cannabis has become a major player in the harm reduction aspect of treating addictions.
If you or someone you know is suffering from opiate dependence (to include vicodin, percocet, oxycontin, morphine, heroin, soma, norco etc) and would like to be evaluated for cannabis treatment please feel free to contact my staff and make an appointment. Our toll free number is 877-721-0047 or visit our website at www.mcsocal.com
Respectfully,
Dr. Sean Breen
Medical Director,
This is change one addiction for another one. Withdrawal from potent marijuana is harder to break than heroin withdrawal. They are very similar but withdrawal from marijuana makes you nuts and lasts much longer.
Leo, I wish I could tell you that you are incorrect but your comment is not based on any study of anecdotal evidence. Thanks for visiting.
God you have got to be shitting me!!! Opiate withdrawal is hell on earth, have you every been through it? Im not talking vicodin either. Cannabis has NO withdrawal. Stop spreading lies.
LEO…Please you have no idea what your talking about. Your statement is vile and bullshit. I mean this in a nice way….please stop with the lies
The comparision of A Heavy Marijauna (HABIT) to Herion Addiction is a JOKE! The worse of symptoms in quitting a chronic MARY JANE habit is headache,anxiety,restlessness,etc A joke really compared to Opiate Withdrawl:
The Muscle aching alone which is the term used because lack of a better one,( Restless Leg syndrome x 100 )describes it better, is torture!!! add 32 DAYS of not sleeping even 2 min, the all to familar feeling of wanting to unload on yourself, not to mention the terrorizing presence of every negative emotion the human brain can produce,the sweats,the chills,skin crawling horror show! This Turtle is crazy too compare the two!
Cannabis does not cause withdrawal. I would know. Opiate withdrawal lasts for 3 days to about a week (3-6 weeks with methadone or buprenorphine).
* Strong cravings – Varies with person
* Nausea – nausea becomes vomiting
* Cramps – SOOO painful and torture
* Sweating – you will have yellow sheets if they start white
* Chills – cold sweats
* Goose bumps – goes with the chills but gets really extreme sometimes
* Vomiting – keeps you from eating
* Diarrhea – OLD FAITHFUL!! Seriously, its the painful kind too. Sorry for the image.
* Shakes – “Restless leg syndrome times 100x” goes here too
* Irritation
* Agitation
* Anxiety – You cant really function
* Muscle aches – EVERYTHING hurts real bad
* Runny nose
* Yawning – its weird, you yawn and yawn because your sooo tired but…
* Insomnia – you never sleep. ever. the pain and restless legs and puking/pooping keeps you up.
* Dilated pupils – Bright lights kind of hurt, disorientation
Theres more too. Opiate wd sucks. Methadone, and to a lesser extent, Suboxone, can have WD that lasts for weeks or months because they have such long half-lifes. Comparing it to weed is a joke. And FYI, MOST people who suffer WD are legitimate pain patents with high doses of medication. Physical dependence is not always the same addiction. Cannabis has no WD at all.
Yeah, you’re crazy. Take it from someone who has stopped both at different times. Marijuana wd is nothing compared to opiates. Trust me on this.
this sounds like me right now. I am 24 yr old male who has been on oxy contin, then methadone for 5 yrs… I decided to hop off at 37 mg’s and am about to make the change to suboxone. The only thing keeping me sane is the green i smoke.. Top shelf at that. I am 50 hrs with absolutley nothing… I was having shakes earlier, sweatin alil, smomach cramps for sure. about 10 mins ago,i took a rip and I really feel the full effects of the cannaboids helping eliminate the bad effects from the opioid withdrawal. This shit is no joke though…by that i mean kicking the devils poison aka methadone. I know i am in for the long haul and need this change in my life. It was taking the best years away and it just isnt me anymore. Its over. Last page read, book shut. case fucking closed. Long story short… I dont really know what the true effects on some good buds helping out this hell… but i know for sure its helping me. I am no different from the rest of you. Just got caught up on some bs and need to dig our selves out… Im 51 hours deep yall. wish me luck. I know these trichomes got my back.
I hate it when people compare weed to heroine. I quit smoking weed when I started college and with no ill effects. I’m getting ready to take myself off vicodin that my doctor prescribed to me for a back injury and I fully intend to smoke some weed to deal with any withdraw. I would rather my son smoke weed then ever take a sip of alcohol or ever smoke one cigarette. I’m sure there are tons of cons to smoking weed, but it’s nothing like the cons you get from say alcohol, heroine, coke, crack, narcotics, nicotine, hell, I would bet money that caffine has more of a negative effect than smoking weed. Educate yourself before you speak.
You are comparing apples and oranges. I am discussing the medicinal benefits of using cannabis. You are discussing the pros and cons of recreational use.
How about talking to your son about the benefits of NOT using any controlled substances and teaching him to do the right thing??
by any chance would you know any doctors near Vancouver British Columbia Canada my mother has been on oxy for over 10 years because of a hysterectomy gone wrong and now she wants to get off these pills cause they have been controlling her life and i know that cannabis can be used for the withdrawals of an opiate please respond
How much success have you had detoxing people from Subutex with Marijuana?
I only have a handful of patients that were taking subutex and I can not say with 100% confidence how many got off completely. I know for sure 1 patient, 18 y/o female is completely clean x 24 months.
I am a 23yr old male who’s hopelessly addicted to dilaudid by way of chronic back pain thanks to a drunk driver. My first time getting off opiates was absolute hell on earth for 96 hours. No sleep, lost 45lbs, hallucinations, panic attacks. That was cold turkey & 60mg percocet/day. This go around, I’m on 40mg of Dilaudid, tapering down, but this time 8′e got the green goddess. Insomnia, nausea, hallucinations and panic attacks are at bay. I’m impressed to say the least, and I’m looking forward to using it more after my back surgery.
Glad to hear it is working for you. Opiate withdrawal is brutal and I have seen cannabis used successfully on many occasions.
I quit pot after 3 years of daily use with no w/d. Everyone disregard Leonardo’s comment because he has no idea what he is talking about. Moron.
I’m SO glad I came across this website! I’m going thru withdraw from Percs. Been slowly weaning myself off it but I’m still going thru hell! Skins crawling, insomnia, anxiety, muscle aches, sweating and what feels like electric shocks in my head!
I’m not much for smoking weed anymore. I do have a bag that’s been tucked away for some time. Going to try some tonight and see how it does. I wondered if it could work and googled it, which took me to here!
Thanks for the info!
Well, I tested this thing out! I didn’t get stoned….Just enough to do the trick.
My results were mixed but encouraging!
My muscle aches and skin crawling went away! Can’t judge the insomnia, being I haven’t went to bed, since smoking. The sweating also only happens when trying to sleep.
What didn’t go away and if anything got worse, was the anxiety. Now I can’t count this, because the main reason I stopped smoking pot, was because it made me anxious…..Your results may vary.
I also, still have the electric shocks in my brain. Still….All in all, I’d say it’s way worth it!
I can counter the anxiety with the lorazepam, I take for the stress. I have NO intentions of getting off the Lorazepams! Been on them for 12 years. Helps me with my MVP.
Sadly, I had to pop a perc a few minutes ago, so I turn off the brain shocks and sleep. I’ll test this again tomorrow.
Another week and I’ll have this beat! Looking forward to getting my life back and being productive again!
Thumbs up from me!
I can’t believe that earlier comment where marijuana withdrawal is said to be worse than opiate withdrawal. I think it is irresponsible to suggest this. I am currently using medical marrijuana to handle my opiate withdrawal symptoms and it it saving my life. Before opiates I was a marijuana “abuser” as opposed to marijuana “user” and from my experience, cannabis withdrawal is almost entirely psychological. Responsible cannabis use is perhaps the most effective non-opiate treatment for opiate addiction – period. I would recommend it to anyone looking to get to business in terms of actually quiting all opiate use – to anyone who doesn’t want to draw out this horrible process any longer than a couple weeks.
I took Suboxone for 5 years. My doctor got into some kind of trouble and moved to Washinton . I quit cold turkey. I got sicker than one could ever imagine. Nausea, direaha waking up in middle of the night, electricity running through my brain, anxiety God it was unbearable. I relapsed within a month. I started taking loratabs again. I still was having withdrawal symptoms Suboxone is an evil drug that should.be taken off the market. Now I am back on tabs, and it’s unacceptable. A friend told me she used to take 5 tabs every 30 minutes, and she smoked weed and that’s what got her off of them. I want to try it, but I can’t find any yet. When I find some my opiate days will be over. All opiates are evil. My body and mind can’t take withdrawals any longer. I just have to find it first.
Hi my name is Chris I’m am currently enrolled in a methadone maintenance treatment program, my question is can I be prescribed medical marijuana for the side effects and damage it has caused my stomach ( gastritis , severe nausea , sleeping problems ) while continuing to taper my methadone dose down ?? I did not know if my methadone treatment center would allow ?
And if they do allow how well does it work?