Former NBA Star Lamar Odom Says He Used Cannabis For Addiction Recovery

38-year-old Lamar Odom is probably known by most for his time helping the Los Angeles Lakers win back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and 2010. Sadly, others remember him best for his cocaine addiction which led to his highly publicized downfall and near death a few years ago. In 2015, Odom was in the midst of a deep cocaine addiction that cost him friends and even his marriage to Khloe Kardashian. During one four day cocaine binge at a brothel in Las Vegas, Odom lost consciousness. Odom spent nearly three months in the hospital in a coma and fighting for his life. After leaving the hospital, he underwent multiple rehab stints to try to manage his cocaine addiction. Recently, Odom opened up about his use of cannabis for addiction recovery. Odom stated, “While going through rehab, I discovered certain strains (of marijuana) that support wellness.”

Odom is now part of the group of individuals who have benefited from using cannabis for addiction recovery. The idea of using cannabis products to treat addiction is based on the principle of harm reduction. Instead of having someone quit abusing drugs cold turkey, which may be incredibly difficult for some addicts, a harm reduction strategy would first focus on reducing the risk of drug use for the individual while still trying to slowly wean them off of the addictive substance. For instance, certain rehabilitation programs allow patients to use cannabis. This can potentially help them eliminate abusing deadly drugs like cocaine and heroin. Cannabis has no known lethal dosage and is far less addictive than almost every other known “recreational drug.”

The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) reveals that no deaths or overdoses have ever happened with cannabis. In fact, DEA Judge Francis Young found a user would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times the amount of what’s contained in one marijuana cigarette to reach lethal levels. That equates to 1500 pounds in 15 minutes. The carbon monoxide would kill you before the cannabis would. #medicalmarijuana #cannabis #cannabiscommunity #marijuana

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The harm reduction strategy is not necessarily the best option for everyone. Some may replace their addiction to more dangerous drugs with a cannabis dependency. Although cannabis is safer than the majority of addictive drugs, someone who has an addictive personality may use cannabis as a crutch rather than a beneficial medicine.

Lamar Odom’s Cannabis Business Venture

Odom’s experience with cannabis for addiction recovery was so successful that he is now starting his own cannabis business, Rich Soil Organics. According to a press release from April 2018, “the company will offer various cannabis-related products, including flowers, concentrates, extracts and other CBD/THC infusions.” The release elaborated, “Rich Soil Organics aims to help users tackle a wide range of issues, including depression, stress, and anxiety, as well as physical symptoms such as nausea, headaches and chronic pain.”

Rich Soil Organics will aim to provide natural and healthy cannabis alternatives to traditional medicines. Odom’s company will provide “organically grown, pesticide-free cannabis” in hopes of having a positive medicinal impact on people with a number of health conditions.

Odom’s journey is a shining example of how medical cannabis can increase the chances of successful addiction recovery. Introducing cannabis into his addiction treatment plan was a positive life-changing experience. Odom went from fighting for his life to being a sober natural healing business owner, thanks in large part to medicinal cannabis.