With opioid abuse and opioid related deaths on the rise in America and around the world, it’s no surprise that people would do anything to fight against the upward trend. There have been attempted and effective methods of rehab and medications such as methadone, but the cold, hard truth is that 70-90% of addicts relapse after treatment, according to the St. Joseph Institute. On a recent episode of Viceland’s Weediquette, host Krishna Andavolu takes viewers to a place that uses an alternative treatment for opioid addiction.
The episode, aptly titled Reefer Rehab, takes viewers to Genesis Farms in Maine, where opioid abusers use highly concentrated dabs, oils, and edibles all grown and prepared on site. It showcases a man named Beau who has been dealing with addiction for sixteen years and has tried everything. Wanting to kick methadone, and addiction all together, Beau checked himself into Genesis Farms and was immediately served dabs to soothe his nerves. Caregiver, Dennis Hammac, doles out major doses of cannabis to Beau and other patients seeking rehabilitation at Genesis Farms while also delivering healthy doses to his own system. Initially, the doses are astronomical in order to get patients to push through the difficult, painful, and sometimes dangerous withdrawal stage. At one point Andavolu remarks that he’s never seen anyone take so much THC in one sitting. Once they get through the physical hurtles, they continue to battle the mental strains of addiction with cannabis.
Andavolu brings up the question on all of our minds, does it really make sense to treat dependence on one drug with dependence on another? Medicinal uses for marijuana are undeniable, and it's uses are only gaining popularity. If conditions ranging from psychological to physical reap the benefits of medical marijuana, then it makes sense that both the physical and mental symptoms of addiction could be remedied with the greenery we know and love. Besides, is treating addiction with cannabis really less ethical than treating it with drugs like methadone and Suboxone? Methadone and Suboxone are controlled opioids similar to how we all referred to Adderall as legal cocaine in high school. There has been a long debate on the effectiveness and ethical use of methadone on opioid addiction, and considering how cannabis is significantly less dangerous than opiates treating addiction with dabs and edibles doesn’t seem like as much of a risk. Users admit that it is a bit like substituting one high with another, but they go on to explain that they’d rather be chilling out after a dab than knocked out on smack.
The methods used at Genesis Farms are unaccredited, but for addicts looking for new hope cannabis gets all the credit. While some have relapsed since filming, Beau is still going strong and is excited to be able to focus more attention on his family. In all honesty, I’m all for medicinal marijuana, and I don’t see why using cannabis to treat addiction isn’t worth exploring. Cannabis isn’t physically addictive, nor can you overdose or die after consuming. The worst that can happen is maybe eating too many snacks and accidentally napping for too long. I’d say that’s better than the alternative.
