Opioids are among the most powerfully addictive substances. CBD can be useful in helping people get off and stay off opioids, research indicates.
For starters, having access to medical marijuana might help people from becoming hooked on opioids in the first place. A 2014 study found that states with medical marijuana programs had significantly lower rates of opioid overdoses. The study did not investigate the cause of this correlation, but it could be that people who were able to treat their pain with cannabis products were less likely to use highly addictive opioids.
Another study indicates that CBD might lessen the appeal of opioids. A 2013 study done on rats founds that rats who were given CBD did not find morphine as rewarding. That suggests that CBD interferes with the way that the brain responds to opioids and could potentially impact the addictive nature of opioids.
Many people who become addicted to opioids are treated using methadone. One 2013 study found that people who were using cannabis while on a methadone treatment plan reported less intense opioids withdrawals.