Dec 09
11
Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley have found that substituting marijuana for alcohol could help people overcome alcohol abuse, according to a report just published on PsychCentral.com, the largest and oldest Web-based independent mental health social network — http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/12/01/marijuana-to-control-alcohol-abuse/9863.html
A poll of 350 marijuana users found that 40 percent used cannabis to control their alcohol cravings, 66 percent as a replacement for prescription drugs and 26 percent for other, more harmful illegal drugs. The study found that 65 percent of people reported using marijuana as a substitute because it has fewer adverse side effects than alcohol, illicit or prescription drugs, 34 percent because it has less withdrawal potential and 57.4 percent because cannabis provides better symptom management.
“Substituting cannabis for alcohol has been described as a radical alcohol treatment protocol,” said UC-Berkeley Researcher Amanda Reiman in the PsychCentral report. “People might substitute cannabis, a potentially safer drug than alcohol with less negative side effects, if it were socially acceptable and available.”
News of the study comes as little surprise to SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation), a national organization dedicated to educating the public about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol.
“Every objective study on marijuana has concluded that it is far less toxic, far less addictive, and contributes to far fewer social problems than alcohol,” said SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert, who is a coauthor of the recently released book, Marijuana Is Safer: So why are we driving people to drink?
“It is irrational to allow the use of alcohol, but prohibit adults from making the rational, safer choice to use a less harmful substance,” Tvert said. “If someone can overcome their incredibly damaging addiction to alcohol simply by using a substance as relatively benign as marijuana, by all means they should be allowed to do so.”
SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation) is a Colorado-based non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol. For more information visit http://www.SAFERchoice.org
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