By If you buy CBD, it is safest to make sure that there is independent laboratory testing as attested to by a COA (certificate of analysis) that should accompany every CBD product. CBD is readily obtainable in most parts of the United States, though its exact legal status has been in flux. All 50 states have laws legalizing CBD with varying degrees of restriction. In December 2015, the FDA eased the regulatory requirements to allow researchers to conduct CBD trials. In 2018, the Farm Bill made hemp legal in the United States, making it virtually impossible to keep CBD illegal — that would be like making oranges legal, but keeping orange juice illegal.
- Taking CBD at high dosages deactivates the P450 enzymes, altering how the body metabolizes many compounds, including THC.
- Although research on CBD and its capacity to maintain homeostasis is still in its early stages, clinical data suggest that CBD offers a wide variety of potential health advantages.
- Your endocannabinoid system is made up of chemical signals and receptors that process signals.
Risks and side effects
- In addition, CBD fully reversed the high impulsivity level showed by rats with an EtOH dependence history (Gonzalez-Cuevas et al., 2018).
- Although psychostimulants have shown some favorable results, high quality clinical trials and meta-analyses are needed to determine their clinical utility (Ronsley et al., 2020).
- In accordance with this finding, systemic injections of CBD alone (10 and 20 mg/kg, i.p.) failed to significantly alter extracellular DA level in the NAcc (Galaj et al., 2020).
Endocannabinoid receptors occur naturally throughout the entire body, and help to control pain, inflammation, mood, memory, and more. A 2015 review of available preclinical and clinical data found that CBD had therapeutic properties in the treatment of cocaine, opioid, and psychostimulant addiction. Evidence also indicated that it might have benefits in the treatment of tobacco and cannabis addiction.
Role of Cannabidiol in the Therapeutic Intervention for Substance Use Disorders
However, the available information suggests that CBD could be a useful tool for the treatment of cocaine use disorder although additional studies are warranted. Even in states where marijuana is legal, there are restrictions on where CBD products are sold and how they can be marketed. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made clear that products that contain CBD—even if derived from legal, commercial hemp—cannot claim to have therapeutic benefits or be sold as dietary supplements unless they have been approved by the FDA for that use. This is to protect consumers by discouraging the illegal marketing of unsubstantiated health/medical claims.
CBD and Endogenous Cannabinoid System
Marijuana is a term used to generally refer to the dried plant form of cannabis. Some people use the term hemp when referring to cannabis, while others use the term cannabis to refer to varieties of the plant cultivated for non-drug use, such as fiber. The main difference in varieties comes down to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content.
How much CBD should you use?
- Regarding the safety of CBD, Taylor et al., 2018, in phase I, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, revealed that CBD was commonly well tolerated.
- But, if you’re lucky to live in a state that has legalized recreational use, you can walk into a store and buy it — as long as you’re 21 or older.
- Participants who used a CBD inhaler significantly reduced their cigarette consumption by approximately 40% during the treatment week, while those using a placebo showed no change.
- When someone consumes CBD, it interacts with your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS).
- CBD and other components of Cannabis work by interacting with the human body’s Endocannabinoid System (ECS).
Following this, TRPV1(−/−) mice do not respond to morphine reward (Nguyen et al., 2014). Adamczyk et al. have further found that SB366791, a TRPV1 antagonist, reverses cocaine-induced reinstatement of previously extinguished cocaine-seeking behavior. Conversely, SB did not reduce cocaine SA, suggesting that TRPV1 activity is not necessary for the reward response but is involved in the mechanisms underlying cocaine relapse (Adamczyk et al., 2012).
CBD can potentially interact with other medications, such as antiepileptic drugs, antidepressants, and opioid analgesics. If you are taking other medications, CBD can impact their efficacy, and your doctor may need to reevaluate the dose you are taking. A small number of people who took higher doses of CBD had elevated liver enzymes, but no symptoms or jaundice. One trial suggested an increased risk of liver injury among people using other epilepsy drugs (valproate and clobazam), but a later study did not. You can manage this risk by only taking CBD under the supervision of your doctor.
Watch for side effects and don’t take more than the dose that your doctor recommends. Evidence suggests that people can develop a tolerance to THC and may experience withdrawal symptoms. Physical dependence on THC is more likely among people who use high-THC cannabis strains. Because marijuana can be addictive, particularly when it is used heavily and at high doses, you might wonder if CBD addiction is also possible.
“I so appreciate the opportunity to have conversations with patients because CBD can interact with other medications they’re taking,” says Smita Das, MD, PhD, chair of the Council on Addiction Psychiatry at the American Psychiatric Association. Whatever CBD products consumers use, they should keep their doctors in the loop, experts emphasize. Unknowns include whether CBD raises concerns for specific populations like elderly individuals or pregnant people. “In the next is cannabidiol addictive few years, we hope to have concrete information about the best dosing protocols for specific symptoms and conditions.
However, there are many unanswered questions about the science, safety, and quality of products containing CBD. The agency is working on answering these questions through ongoing efforts including feedback from a recent FDA hearing and information and data gathering through a public docket. Some evidence suggests that the combined effects of CBD and THC may be dependent on dose. A 2019 study, for example, found that low doses of CBD actually played a role in amplifying the psychoactive effects of THC, while high doses of CBD reduced THC’s effects.
