Could CBD Help Manage the Opioid Crisis

America’s addiction crisis continues to deepen with a December 2020 report from the CDC revealing that there was a 20% increase in deaths (81 003 deaths) by drug overdose in the most recent twelve month period when compared with the same period the year before. Death by synthetic opioid overdose in particular has sky-rocketed in some areas with 10 Western States reporting a staggering 98% increase in synthetic opioid-involved deaths while overall increases for opioid related death in the US was up  5% in 2020. 

In South Africa, Dr Eugene Allers, a member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop) spoke to Cape Talk about the significant addiction problems in South Africa where it is estimated that 10 million citizens are abusing drugs. Alcohol was the most commonly abused substance and then came opioids (a group of prescription and non-prescription drugs including codeine, heroine, nyaope and wonga). The significant demand combined with lack of policing means that highly addictive drugs are easy to access.

Addiction workers believe that Covid lockdowns had a major role to play in creating the perfect storm for a spike in addiction related harms. The uncertainty and isolation of the extended lockdown was compounded by the loss of financial stability, jobs and family economies. The loss of life was felt in the the demise of breadwinners and shared responsibility. Many vulnerable people simply couldn’t cope.

Added to the emotional and social impact of lockdown was the suspension of treatment programmes. Many patients were receiving intensive counselling on their drug recovery journey and some were unable to join online sessions. Access to drugs was also disrupted, leading to poor quality drugs flooding the market place and an increased risk of highly toxic drug variants.

Although drug addiction is a reflection of a society that needs to think differently about mental health and lifestyle conditions, CBD could offer new hope, not only for weaning people off of drugs but also by preventing drug addiction in the first place.

CBD has already been mooted as a viable replacement for marijuana users who have developed dependency, and CBD is well known for its ability to help people manage anxiety and stress. Factors that can become a major contributor to relapses for recovering addicts.  

Pharmacologist Yasmin Hurd’s study of the impact of CBD use on heroin users revealed that there was a significant reduction of cravings experienced by users who had taken CBD before being shown drug-related videos.

Hurd is committed to further research and has recently completed another study that indicates that CBD reverses some of the glutamate-related changes that the use of heroin alters in the brain in rats. The study is currently seeking funding for a more extensive human subject study. She is frustrated by the bureaucracy and slow pace of research around CBD research, especially when the potential benefits are already emerging.

In an interview with Nature, Hurd says, “Addiction is such a tough disorder. It’s not about morals. I don’t understand why we’re so nonchalant about the fact that in the past decade, almost half a million people in the United States have died from opioid drug overdoses. I think that if we can better understand addiction, we will be able to develop non-addictive treatments. When we have those medications, the stigma will be decreased. People will realize that someone can function normally. You won’t even know that they had a substance-use disorder.” Here’s hoping we get the eyes and ears of funders who will open the way for more research into CBD’s potential game-changing effect on addiction worldwide.