New research has found that daily users of crystal methamphetamine who turned to cannabis to manage their cravings used the stimulant drug less, predominantly female users. The findings suggest a new harm-reduction strategy is needed for people who use illicit drugs. For years, people have debated whether cannabis is a gateway drug to other and more powerful drugs, but evidence shows that it has the opposite effect of helping those with addiction to other drugs.
“Our findings are not conclusive but do add to the growing scientific evidence that cannabis might be a beneficial tool for some people who want to better control their unregulated stimulant use, particularly for people who use crystal meth,” said Hudson Reddon, lead and corresponding author of the study.
The researchers recruited 297 adult users of unregulated drugs who’d reported cannabis and stimulant use in the preceding six months. The median age of participants was 44 years; 31.3% were female. Almost half (48.8%) self-reported daily cannabis use, and 45.1% reported using cannabis to manage stimulant cravings. Other standard harm reduction or therapeutic motives for cannabis use included managing craving for unregulated opioids (25.6%) and managing pain (17.8%). The most popular method of cannabis administration was smoking (97.3%), followed by consuming edibles (43.8%) and concentrates (21.9%).
Cannabis use to manage stimulant cravings and daily cannabis use was significantly associated with reduced stimulant use during the period of cannabis use. Cannabis used to control cravings was significantly associated with reduced use in those who used crystal meth daily but not associated with a reduction in crack cocaine use. Females were significantly more likely to report decreased crystal meth use during periods of cannabis use.
