Cannabis could have the power to help crack cocaine addicts overcome their deadly drug dependency

published on May 24, 2017 by Stephen Matthews For Mailonline in Mail Online

Smoking cannabis could help crack cocaine addicts to overcome their dependency, new research implies.

The study suggests that the world’s most popular recreational drug is an effective, but unconventional, substitute for the deadly rock.

If the findings prove true in further trials, it could lead to the herb being used in similar vain to methadone for heroin addicts.

Currently there are no effective means of helping users of the drug who are wanting to battle their continuous cravings, researchers said.

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Researchers at the BC Centre on Substance Use in Vancouver found addicts who chose to smoke cannabis to limit their crack usage took less of the drug.

This tactic helped slash the amount of daily crack users from 35 per cent to just 20 per cent, they wrote in a piece for The Conversation.

Their findings were drawn from a survey of 122 crack users in a downtown suburb of the city where the drug, made of powdered cocaine and bicarbonate of soda, is commonplace.

Ian Hamilton, a cannabis researcher at the University of York, spoke of his excitement at the findings which mirror other studies.

He told MailOnline: ‘This study adds to the increasing evidence that cannabis could have the potential to treat many health related problems.