Patients use prescription CBD to quite Cannabis consumption

Taking marijuana could be as easy as taking CBD, according to the results of the first-ever randomized clinical trial of CBD for cannabis use disorders. The results suggested that prescribed doses of the non-toxic part of the cannabis plant might help people quit cannabis. The MRC-funded study was published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, and in the study, researchers administered CBD or placebo to 82 volunteers who were motivated to quit cannabis but had previously failed to do so. The researchers measured the drug's effects on the amount of cannabis use both during a four-week treatment period and up to six months after treatment. Three different doses of the CBD were tested in an adaptive design to determine which doses might be most effective: Forty-eight volunteers received either placebo or CBD in doses of 200 mg, 400 mg, or 800 mg in the first phase of the study. The researchers found that the lowest dose of 200 mg of CBD was ineffective and therefore dropped it from the study. In the second phase of the study, the researchers then recruited an additional 34 volunteers who received either placebo, 400 mg, or 800 mg of CBD. At the end of the study, the researchers found consistent evidence that CBD at a dose of 400 mg or 800 mg was more effective than placebo at reducing cannabis use. Participants treated with CBD had lower urinary cannabis concentrations and an increased number of days of abstinence compared to participants treated with placebo. The lead author Dr. Tom Freeman, Director of the Addiction and Mental Health Group in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath, said: "The results of our study open up a new therapeutic strategy for managing problem cannabis use in clinical settings. As we emphasize, the CBD has contributed 400 mg and 800 mg oral daily doses have the potential to meet the significant and currently unmet clinical need for pharmacological treatment of cannabis use disorders. "While it may seem counter-intuitive to treat problematic cannabis use with CBD - a component of the cannabis plant - THC and CBD have opposing effects on our own endogenous cannabinoid system. In contrast to THC, CBD has no intoxicating or rewarding effects and it does show that Potential for the Treatment of Various Other Medical Disorders ".