Stolick to Present on Marijuana as an Opioid, Alcohol Addiction Remediator

Based on scientific evidence and government statistics, the life-saving attributes of marijuana, as it pertains to the opioid crisis and alcohol addiction, will be the topic of a free, public presentation by University of Findlay philosophy professor Matt Stolick on Thursday, Oct. 25. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Winebrenner Theological Seminary, Room 251.
According to Stolick, despite the fact that it remains recreationally illegal in most states, marijuana holds great promise in the effort to find innovative treatments for those addicted to opioids and alcohol.
“The moral principle that guides and justifies marijuana dispensaries is harm reduction. For Ohio, this can mean saving up to 1,000 lives annually,” said Stolick. Aside from its effectiveness in treating symptoms of chronic diseases and pain, the drug can also be used to ease opioid addiction withdrawal symptoms, and when taken with opiates, has been shown to result less opioid use.
Stolick, who chairs the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy, also recently taught class on medical cannabis for UF pharmacy students. In 2009 he published “Otherwise Law-Abiding Citizens: A Scientific and Moral Assessment of Cannabis Use,” is an advocate for medicinal and recreational marijuana legalization, and has delivered other talks on the topic, such as “Medical Marijuana: Effects, Empathy, and Ethics” (2013); and “If you Can Drink a Beer, I Can Smoke a Joint: Equal Rights and the Legalization of Marijuana” (2015).

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