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A spray of hope for pot addiction

A new mouth spray could be used to help addicts of marijuana cut the habit

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A spray of hope for pot addiction
20 Jan 2012

Drug use preventatives are available to those who are addicted to smoking or those who are heroin addicts, but for pot users the only solution to kick their habit is to go cold turkey. Researchers from the University of New South Wales hope that a cannabis-based mouth spray that is usually prescribed to those who suffer multiple sclerosis, which is not yet available in Australia, could be used to help people fight the battle against marijuana.

There are no specific products aimed at easing people off cannabis with the only alternative being a mixture of prescribed drugs used to target withdrawal symptoms. The drug Sativex which is used as a mouth spray contains two of the main cannabinoid which are found in the cannabis plant; tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

Jan Copeland who is leading the world-first study through the university's National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre said "It was a combination of both that gave Sativex potential. The good thing about Sativex is that it returns CBD to the compound, and in treating symptoms of withdrawal it can dampen down the effects of THC on the patient's receptor systems without them getting stoned".

Sativex mouth spray will be used by the university which has been given authorisation as part of the study and will be given in low doses in a monitored hospital environment every six hours. Some of the withdrawal symptoms include disrupted sleep patterns, difficulty functioning and anger.

According to the research published in the medical journal The Lancet, Cannabis is the most favoured drug of choice and Australia and New Zealand were found to share the highest rate of usage per capita in the world. It was estimated that 10 to 15 per cent of people aged between 15 and 64 smoked the drug in Australia and New Zealand in the past year.

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