Roll joints, not dice: Could cannabis be used to 'cure' problem gamblers?

Previously thought to be detrimental to people with gambling disorders, addiction specialists may now have to rethink their position on cannabis as related to pathological gambling. New research from Canada and Boston has determined that synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, which mimic the effects of cannabis at a higher potency, improve “choice performance” in rats with gambling disorders.

Though gambling addiction occurs at a similar rate to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, it receives less attention than deserved from clinicians and researchers. A complex addiction that does not follow the same neurological pathways as most drug addictions, neuroscientists know relatively little about the physical pathology of compulsive gambling.

Drug treatments essentially don’t exist, and drugs that compulsive gamblers do receive normally contribute to treating other psychological illnesses they may have, but aren’t necessarily designed to treat the gambling disorder itself. This latest research has not only uncovered a new lead that...

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