Posted on November 3, 2021 by Heather Adams

You’re invited! A free panel on using cannabis to treat opioid addiction

Join Spotlight PA for a discussion on using medical marijuana to treat opioid addiction.

You’re invited! A free panel on using cannabis to treat opioid addiction

Spotlight PA Staff

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In 2018, the newly established Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Advisory Board successfully advocated for opioid use disorder to be added as one of the qualifying conditions for recommending cannabis, saying marijuana can offer pain relief, help with withdrawal symptoms, and work as an “exit drug” for heroin and other opiates.

Some members of the board saw the expansion as another way for the state — which has one of the highest drug overdose death rates in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — to fight the opioid epidemic.

But the kind of rigorous research needed to study the treatment can often stretch for many years, and the state’s research program faced some early challenges, including a lawsuit filed by a group of medical marijuana companies.

With the state research program in its early stages and evidence lacking, some experts remain divided on recommending marijuana to treat opioid use disorder.

On Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. EST, join Spotlight PA and a panel of experts for a free discussion on cannabis as a treatment for opioid use disorder, the debate in the medical community, and a look at the research.

Our panelists will include:

RSVP for free here. Submit your questions in advance to [email protected].

» Spotlight PA’s live events operate on a “pay-what-you-can” honor system. If you value this public-service event, pay it forward and contribute any amount to Spotlight PA now so we can keep our programming free for everyone at spotlightpa.org/donate. For a limited time, all gifts will be DOUBLED.

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