But now, two studies in this issue demonstrate disturbing similarities between marijuana's effects on the brain and those produced by highly addictive drugs such as cocaine, heroin, alcohol, and nicotine. Together, the two sets of experiments suggest that marijuana manipulates the brain's stress and reward systems in the same way as more potent drugs, to keep users coming back for more. They have done research on animals to find a cause for which there is no human effect. The fact is that marijuana is the least addictive of the widely used drugs. But the results may have a more hopeful message as well, because they may guide scientists in devising better strategies for treating marijuana dependence, for which some 100,000 people in the United States alone seek treatment each year.
Some people seek treatment for poly-drug dependence.
Others are sent to treatment by the courts, parents or employers when they do not need it. However, if this number were accurate it would indicate that fewer than one tenth of one percent of the more than ten million regular marijuana users seek treatment. For instance, chemicals that block the effects of CRF or even relaxation exercises might ameliorate the miserable moods experienced by people in THC withdrawal. In addition, opiate antagonists like naloxone may, by dampening dopamine release, block the reinforcing properties of marijuana in people. They reasoned that drug withdrawal might recruit the same brain structures and chemicals that are involved in the stress response.