This past election day, Measure T, the ill-conceived ban on medicinal cannabis dispensaries, was soundly defeated, garnering only 39 percent of the vote. The good people of Santa Barbara have spoken that we should not deny access to an affective analgesic, muscle relaxant, anti-emetic, antioxidant, anti-cancer drug: cannabis. So now is a good time for some more education to address concerns of that worried 39 percent.
It turns out that not only does cannabis not interfere with drug-abuse treatment but that for many patients it is a harm-reducing substitute.
Science tells us that the medical use of cannabis did not compromise the results of patients in substance abuse treatment: In a pilot study reported in the July 2010 Harm Reduction Journal and the Newsletter of the International Association of Cannabis Medicine, California researchers investigated the effects of the medical use of cannabis on the outcome of people participating in substance abuse treatment. Their study demonstrates that questions about the relationship between medical marijuana use and involvement in drug treatment can be systematically evaluated.