From the Under-reported File: New Study Suggests Cannabis Use Prevents Opiate Dependence Among Vulnerable Group

Several studies have already shown that maternal deprivation results in a vulnerability to opiate dependence, in both humans and lab animals. Now, the journal of Neuropharmacology has published a study suggesting that cannabis use may prevent opiate dependence among maternally deprived test subjects.

The researchers chronically fed two groups of rats THC (Dronabinol). One group was “maternally deprived” during early development, i.e., separated from their mother. But the maternally deprived rats given THC matured into adult rats that were unusuallyresistant to opiate dependence.

If the study does not challenge the notion that cannabis is a gateway drug, it suggests something far more radical: that cannabis may serve a prophylactic function against opiate dependence in adult life. The findings also point to the potential value of self-medication in individuals subjected to an adverse post-natal environment.