So-Called Natural High Could Help Some Addicts Quit Marijuana

Future medication could alleviate mood and anxiety disorders resulting from prolonged marijuana use, enabling some addicts to successfully quit the drug.

In a recent Vanderbilt University study published in the online edition of the journal Cell Reports, senior author Sachin Patel and his colleagues created genetically modified mice with a diminished ability to produce the 2-AG endocannabinoid, a compound responsible for providing a “high” by activating the brain’s cannabinoid receptors. The genetically modified mice displayed symptoms of anxiety and depression, but when the researchers restored the 2-AG levels to normal, the symptoms were reversed.

Prolonged use of marijuana increases anxiety, making users more dependent on the drug to relieve their anxiety. But restoring depleted 2-AG levels “could be a way to help people using marijuana,” said Patel. 

Patel was able to reduce the anxiety behaviors in the mice by inducing a natural high through the activation of the endocannabinoids. If the same techniques could be translated to human use, those addicted to the anxiety-relieving aspect of marijuana would finally have the means to quit.

“Normalizing 2-AG deficiency could represent a viable…therapeutic strategy for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders,” said Patel.