As the Opioid Crisis continues to wreak havoc on our nation, we may sometimes forget that other countries are suffering from similar issues, and our neighbor to the north is certainly no exception. For a while now, British Columbia, Canada has been suffering from a serious opioid overdose crisis and has asked for the experts to intervene before the situation gets out of hand. Now, to face the health emergency that first arose two years ago, the first Professor of Cannabis Studies at the University of British Columbia will conduct clinical trials to combat this terrible problem at its core. So how does he plan to fight the overdoses crisis in Canada? Let’s take a closer look at the details and find out.
Clinical Trials
To fight the overdose opioid crisis, Dr. M-J Milloy is preparing to lead clinical trials that will explore the potential benefits of the marijuana plant in combating the epidemic. In fact, as part of the experiment, Milloy plans to explore how cannabis medication could be used to help people suffering from opioid use disorder continue with their treatment. Over the years, researchers have debated about how marijuana can be used as a drug to reduce dependence to opioids, and Milloy’s proposal may take us one step closer to fighting opioid addiction in North America.
According to the cannabis researcher, studies on the therapeutic effects of marijuana are continuing to grow with each passing moment. As Milloy points out, early studies have shown that the little green plant can help opioid addicts stabilize and gain a stronger foothold on the path to recovery.
How Bad Is BC’s Crisis?
So how terrible is the opioid overdose crisis in British Columbia?
Despite government attempts to intervene in 2016, the number of deaths has continued to rise in the Canadian province. In 2018 alone, an estimated 1,143 people died as a direct result of drug overdoses in British Columbia. At this time, the province is attempting to combat the epidemic via opioid agonist therapy (OAT), which includes the use of methadone to induce drug withdrawal. However, two-thirds of patients will stop this treatment after a period of 6 months. Overall, Milloy hopes the cannabis study will completely reverse this problem.
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