“Overall study interviews, cannabis use was independently associated with reduced likelihood of being recently exposed to fentanyl,” states the abstract. That risk was called “significantly lower.”

Authors point out “the ongoing opioid overdose crisis is driven largely by exposure to illicitly manufactured fentanyl.”

That being the case, they say the findings “reinforce the need for experimental trials to investigate the potential benefits and risks of controlled cannabinoid administration for people on OAT.”

Exploring the link, if any, between cannabis and opioids, both legal and illegal, is attracting more attention. / PHOTO BY FILE

Exploring the link, if any, between weed and opioids, both legal and illegal, is attracting attention. Earlier this year in the U.S., cannabis expert Ziva Cooper, Ph.D. received a US$3.9 million grant to study if weed terpenes can reduce the amount of opioid medication a person uses to manage pain.

In a 2018 blog, cannabis expert Dr. Peter Grinspoon cites one study that showed “when medical marijuana laws went into effect in a given state, opioid prescriptions fell by 2.21 million daily doses filled per year. When medical marijuana dispensaries opened, prescriptions for opioids fell by 3.74 million daily doses per year.”

Another study last year out of the University of British Columbia found people with chronic pain who use cannabis daily are less likely to use illicit opioids, including fentanyl. Study participants were marginalized residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, an area that has long witnessed the overdose epidemic.

A study out of Columbia University, though, found use among adults who consumed non-medical opioids “was at least as prevalent on days when cannabis was used as on days when it was not.”

All that said, a Halifax volunteers group, seems convinced that using weed can help break the cycle of opioid addiction. The East Coast Cannabis Substitution Program hands out 200 packages of free weed — edibles, flower or capsules — every Monday.