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Marijuana Methadone Treatment

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Marijuana, Methadone and Other Substance Abuse
Introduction
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there are about 100,000 of deaths per year and there are approximately 8 million people in United States who have substance abuse problem (CDC, 2015). A better understanding and greater attention to the commonly abused substance and its treatment would be beneficial in a providers practice and will also protect the provider from the legalities of prescribing these medications. There are several forms of treatment for every abused substance and the main goal is to help the patient to stop the stop and helping them during the phase of withdrawal. The intent of this paper is to discuss the commonly use substance for abuse …show more content…

The principle of treatment therapy is to helping the patients to reduce problematic drinking, deterring relapse back to heavy drinking and achieving and maintaining abstinence from alcohol (Edmunds, 2014). An oral naltrexone (ReVia) or injectable Vivitrol, Acamprosate and Disulfiram are used for the treatment of alcohol abuse (Edmunds, 2014). Disulfiram are used more often if unpleasant physical symptoms when alcohol is ingested but is reported to be more expensive and have reported to have adverse reaction to the patients (Edmunds, 2014). Benzodiazepines such as Lorazepam and Diazepam are also widely used for treatment of alcohol withdrawal. With the side effects and overdosing of benzodiazepines remains controversial in treating alcohol withdrawal and is always in need to monitor the patient for abuse (SAMHSA, 2013). Additionally, social detoxification and lifestyle management would benefit the whole treatment process such as referring the patient to social support groups and encouraging the family to support the patient during the treatment …show more content…

It is believed that THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is to be the main ingredient that produces the psychoactive effect to patient. It is mostly smoked, smoked in blunts and/or use in pipe or a bong (DEA, 2011). Some people are also mixing marijuana with food or brewed as a tea. Most of the marijuana users are experiencing pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. Marijuana is a Schedule I substance which has therefore the highest potential for abuse with no medical use (CDC, 2015). Senate bill 420 has strict guidelines with prescribing and recommending medical marijuana. It clearly stated in the bill that only physicians with a good standing are allowed to prescribe and recommend medical marijuana (Brown, 2008). Controlled Substance Act defined marijuana as Schedule I drug with no medical use, however, Physicians are may lawfully issue a verbal or written recommendation indicating that marijuana can be beneficial for treatment for a serious medical condition such as cancer treatment (Brown, 2008). Therefore, State of California Law does not cover and allow APRNs to prescribe and recommend medical marijuana to their patients (CANP, 2012). A Marinol, which is a synthetic version of THC, can be prescribed for nausea and vomiting, which primarily caused by chemotherapeutic agents. It helps to stimulate appetite

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