Although there is no significant evidence to prove that marijuana addiction is any more real than Santa Claus or democracy, a group of scientific minds out of Vanderbilt University believe they have found the key to releasing stoners from the dastardly grips of their high habits.
Dr. Sachin Patel and his team of Tennessee cronies say they have discovered the cause of marijuana addiction, and therefore a potential remedy for the fabled vice. In a study published in a recent edition of the journal Cell Reports, researchers reveal a missing molecule in the brain that normally triggers cannabinoid receptors, which if replaced, could tame anxiety disorders.
Researchers believe that people who use cannabis to combat anxiety and depression naturally suffer from low levels of a specific endocannabinoid (2-AG), a chemical that is temporality restored with the use of marijuana. However, smoking pot, according to Dr. Patel, weakens the cannabinoid receptors, which creates a “vicious cycle” of increased anxiety and more frequent pot consumption.
Therefore, the bright idea is that if a medication was produced that could replenish 2-AG in the brain, physicians could treat patients suffering from anxiety disorders while providing them with a trap door to escape marijuana addiction.
Although researchers are expected to launch clinical trials on several medications within the next few years, there is absolutely no evidence to even speculate that this loose concept will work on humans. And while the treatment is being touted as a method to provide people with a “natural high” without the use of marijuana, there is nothing natural about having to take a pill every day in order to feel normal.
Even if this research pans out, people claiming to be junked out on weed will only be trading one addiction for another, and probably at a much higher cost. In short, the principles surrounding pot addiction are unfounded, and developing potential treatments is nothing more than a waste of time.
That’s bollocks – I know many people who got addicted and cannot stop. They don’t use weed to treat any medical conditions.
I got addicted myself – every time I go back to weed and stick to weekends, I gradually end up smoking nearly every day.