From the American Journal of Psychiatry via Gizmodo:

A new study out Tuesday is the latest to suggest that cannabis—or at least a key ingredient of it—might help people struggling with addiction. It found that people with opioid use disorder experienced less symptoms of craving when given cannabidiol, or CBD, over a placebo. CBD also helped them calm down and reduced their anxiety.

They are nice enough to say (so I don’t):

CBD is the part of cannabis that won’t make you feel high (that’s THC). It’s already used to treat certain kinds of seizures, as a prescription drug approved just last year called Epidiolex. But there are plenty of other advertised health benefits, such as stress relief or preventing dementia, that have helped sprout a cottage industry around CBD.

The overall noted effect was a decrease in pain levels as well as a decrease in cravings.

This does not surprise me as pain often drives cravings.  Many opiate addicts start using prescription opiates which were once regularly prescribed in place of actually finding and treating the root source of the pain.  I remember getting Vicodan for minor injuries with the instructions to. “stay off it a few days,” and nothing more. Thankfully I never really liked the stuff (it made me feel out of control and I like to be in control) and thus, never really took it.

A cautionary tale about this; with the softening of laws against cannabis and its psychoactive characteristics there is going to be a bit of research done on how they can treat literally everything with some form of the plant.  Do yourself a favor and just roll with it for a bit, until these studies actually replicate themselves.  This study was small (only 42 people) it is not definitive, it is most likely a primer for further research, which I agree is important.

Bottom line? Cannabis is not bad.  It may not be the miracle it is advertised to be, but its not bad.  It is even OK recreationally, just not quite legal yet so use at your own peril.