According to an Australian study, Nabiximols, a cannabis-based drug targeting brain receptors, would help reduce the relapse rate among heavy marijuana users.
While in France, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) has just given the green light to experiment with cannabis for therapeutic use in a real situation, Australian researchers have successfully tested a drug to counter the addiction to marijuana, the most sold drug in the world. According to a study published Monday, July 15 in the famous review JAMA International MedicineNabiximols, a cannabis-based drug targeting brain receptors may reduce relapse rates.
For 12 weeks, Australian researchers gave 18 sprays of Nabiximols daily to 128 heavy marijuana users who were unsuccessfully trying to quit. It is a cannabis concentrate comprising equal proportions of cannabidiol (CBD) and psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Sprayed under the tongue, this compound avoids the respiratory problems associated with the absorption of smoke. Authorized in Australia, this drug is currently mainly used to treat the symptoms of chronic pain in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis.
In parallel with the treatment, the patients had to undergo, among other things, cognitive-behavioral therapy. Over the course of the trial, the researchers noticed a suppression of withdrawal symptoms and cravings as well as improved physical and psychological well-being.
Principles similar to nicotine replacement
“We have never had proof that drugs can be effective in the treatment of cannabis dependence. This is the first large study to show that this is a safe and effective approach”, welcomes Professor Lintzeris, author of the article. “The principles are very similar to nicotine replacement: you give patients a safer treatment than a drug they are already taking and integrate it with medical counseling to help them deal with their illegal cannabis use” , he develops. If work had already shown that Nabiximols helped with withdrawal, “this new study is more important because it shows that Nabiximols can help patients achieve long-term changes in their use of cannabis”, he specifies.
An oral spray can be an effective substitute for smoked cannabis
“Globally, we are seeing medical cannabis patients drifting away from traditional cannabis use; this new study validates this trend by showing that an oral spray can be an effective substitute for smoked cannabis among regular users seeking a treatment for their consumption”, comments Professor Iain McGregor, co-author of the paper.
“Our study is an important step in finding an alternative to the lack of effective treatments,” Lintzeris concludes. Because “at present, four out of five patients fall back into regular consumption six months after a medical or psychological intervention”, he recalls.
In France, cannabis-based medicines can be prescribed from 2020
These results are published as France has just authorized the sale of cannabis for therapeutic use on trial after years of debate on the subject. After obtaining the opinion of the Temporary Specialized Scientific Committee (CSST) created in September 2018 to assess the relevance and feasibility of this project, the ANSM gave the green light on July 11 for a test.
From 2020, some specially trained doctors will be able to prescribe cannabis-based medicines. These prescriptions will only be authorized for patients in a therapeutic impasse, those suffering from certain forms of treatment-resistant epilepsy, neuropathic pain not relieved by other treatments, side effects of chemotherapy, uncontrolled contractions due to sclerosis in plaque or other pathologies of the central nervous system.
It should also be remembered that the “joint on prescription” will be prohibited. The prescribed products must be inhaled, in the form of oil or dried flower, or ingested by oral solutions from drops or capsules of oils.
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