A chemical found in cannabis could be the most effective way to prevent opioid overdose, according to scientists.
Indiana University scientists have identified 15 chemicals derived from cannabidiol (CBD) – one of the main compounds in cannabis – that could reverse the deadly impact drugs like fentanyl can have on the brain.
They found that it was even more effective than Narcan, designed to combat these types of overdoses, at putting fentanyl in the brain.
The finding could be a breakthrough in the fight against fentanyl, the highly potent drug that kills 1,500 Americans every two weeks.
However, the use of cannabis is linked to its own problems. Long-term use has been linked to cognitive and heart problems by previous studies.
The number of deaths from fentanyl in the US increased sharply in the 2010s. At the beginning of the decade, 2,666 Americans died of fentanyl overdose. This figure rose to 19,413 in 2016. Covid made the situation even worse, with a record 72,484 deaths recorded in 2021
The fentanyl crisis has contributed to the sharp decline in American life expectancy in recent years. Americans now live an average of 76.4 years, up from 78.8 years in 2019. In the UK, which like the US suffered from the Covid pandemic but is not experiencing a fentanyl crisis, life expectancy has increased slightly from 81.3 years in 2019 to 81.52 years in 2021.
The two main components in cannabis are CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
The latter is the cause of the well-known ‘high’ feeling that a person will often feel while taking the drug.
But CBD also has its uses. It has been linked to relaxing one’s muscles and helping treat anxiety. However, there are many skeptics about whether it is effective.
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Epidiolex for the treatment of seizures caused by Lennox-Gastaut syndrome for people two years of age and older.
The drug is the first ever to use a cannabis extract and receive regulatory approval.
Now the Indiana researchers think they may have found a second critical use for the drug extract.
The research team, who will present their findings this week at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society, tested several extracts of CBD’s ability to release opioids from the brain’s receptors.
Narcan, which is sold under the brand name Naxalone, works by fighting opioids from slits in the brain’s receptors for the drug.
This stops the symptoms of an overdose, which often results in death if a person’s breathing stops, depriving the brain and other vital organs of oxygen.
Fentanyl is stronger than Naxolone, the Indiana researchers explain. Therefore, many people who overdose require the drug to be applied 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 enticement for dealers,” Dr. Alex Straiker, co-principal investigator of the schools study, said.
“Since naloxone is the only drug available to reverse overdoses, I think it makes sense to look at alternatives.”
Dr. Michael VanNieuwenhze, who also serves as Co-Principal Investigator from Indiana, said, “We would like to discover a more potent replacement for naloxone.
“But finding something that works synergistically with it, reducing the amount needed to treat an overdose, would also be a success.”
Using a synthetic opioid called DAMGO, which is only used commercially, researchers investigated whether the CBD compounds could break 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 a laboratory, 15 different extracts of CBD were found to be up to the task. Researchers now hope to conduct studies in mice to see which, if any, are effective in preventing overdoses.
“We hope that our approach leads to the birth of new therapies, which in the hands of first responders can save even more lives,” said Taryn Bosquez-Berger, an Indiana graduate student contributing to the study.
The biggest drug threat in America right now in fentanyl.
It is up to 100 times more potent than morphine, one of the most widely used painkillers in the world.
Only a small dose of fentanyl is needed to cause an overdose. Just two milligrams — the equivalent of five grains of salt — is enough to cause death.
Because it is incorporated into other popular medications, many people who die from overdoses do not know they are taking fentanyl. Fentanyl is partly responsible for the sharp drop in life expectancy in America over the past three years.
“Drug use is more dangerous than it has ever been as fentanyl has continued to permeate the supply of illicit drugs, increasing the risk of overdoses in both those with substance use disorders and those who use drugs occasionally,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said last year.
Experts describe the drop in life expectancy from 78.8 in 2019 to 76.4 in 2021 as ‘dramatic’ and ‘substantial’.