Scientists believe a chemical found in cannabis may be the most effective way to prevent an opioid overdose.
Indiana University scientists have identified 15 chemicals derived from cannabidiol (CBD) — one of the main compounds in cannabis — that can reverse the deadly effects of drugs like fentanyl on the brain.
They found it was even more effective than Narcan, which was designed to combat this type of overdose by stopping fentanyl in the brain.
The discovery could be a breakthrough in the fight against fentanyl, the potent drug that kills 1,500 Americans every two weeks.
However, using cannabis comes with its own problems. Long-term use has been linked to cognitive and heart problems in previous studies.
Fentanyl-related deaths in the US rose sharply in the 2010s. At the beginning of the decade, 2,666 Americans died from a fentanyl overdose. That number rose to 19,413 by 2016. Covid made the situation worse with a record 72,484 deaths in 2021
The fentanyl crisis has helped fuel the sharp decline in American life expectancy in recent years. Americans are now living an average of 76.4 years, up from 78.8 years in 2019. In the UK, which has been suffering from the Covid pandemic like the US but is not suffering from a fentanyl crisis, life expectancy rose slightly from 81.3 years in 2019 to 81.52 in 2021.
The two main components of cannabis are CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
The latter causes the well-known “high” feeling that a person often feels when taking the drug.
But CBD also has its uses. It has been linked to relaxing a person’s muscles and treating anxiety. However, there are many skeptics as to whether it is effective.
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Epidiolex to treat seizures caused by Lennox-Gastaut syndrome in people two years and older.
The drug is the first ever to use a cannabis extract and receive regulatory approval.
Now the Indiana researchers believe they may have found a second critical use for the drug extract.
The research team, which will present their findings at this week’s American Chemical Society spring meeting, tested various extracts for CBD’s ability to dislodge opioids from the brain’s receptors.
Narcan, sold under the brand name Naxalone, works by targeting opioids from slots in the brain’s receptors for the drug.
This stops the symptoms of an overdose, which often leads to death when a person’s breathing slows and stops – depriving the brain and other vital organs of oxygen.
Fentanyl is stronger than naxolone, the Indiana researchers explain. Because of this, many people who overdose have to use the drug nasally twice.
“Fentanyl-class compounds are responsible for more than 80% of opioid overdose deaths, and these compounds aren’t going anywhere – it’s just too much of an economic temptation for dealers,” Dr. Alex Straiker, co-principal examiner of research from the school, said.
“Given that naloxone is the only drug available to reverse overdoses, I think it makes sense to look for alternatives.”
dr Michael VanNieuwenhze, who also serves as a co-principal investigator from Indiana, said, “Ideally, we would like to discover a more potent replacement for naloxone.
“However, it would also be an achievement to find something that would work synergistically with this and reduce the amount needed to treat an overdose.”
Using a market-only synthetic opioid called DAMGO, the researchers looked at whether the CBD compounds could break down the molecules in fentanyl that bind to the brain.
If the drug can do this, it will likely be able to reverse the symptoms of an overdose.
In one lab, 15 different CBD extracts were found to be up to the task. Researchers are now hoping to conduct studies in mice to see which, if any, are effective at preventing overdoses.
“We hope our approach will lead to the birth of new therapeutics that could save even more lives in the hands of emergency responders,” said Taryn Bosquez-Berger, a graduate student in Indiana who is collaborating on the research.
The number one drug threat in America right now is fentanyl.
It is up to 100 times stronger than morphine, one of the most commonly used painkillers in the world.
A small dose of fentanyl is enough to cause an overdose. Just two milligrams – the equivalent of five grains of salt – are enough to cause death.
Because it’s cut into other popular drugs, many people who die from an overdose don’t know they’re taking fentanyl. Fentanyl has been partially blamed for America’s sharp decline in life expectancy over the past three years.
“Substance use is more dangerous than ever as fentanyl continues to permeate the illicit drug supply, increasing the risk of overdose in both people with substance use disorders and those who use drugs occasionally,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Substance Abuse, said last year.
Experts have described the drop in life expectancy from 78.8 in 2019 to 76.4 in 2021 as “dramatic” and “significant”.
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