Is Hemp-Derived CBD A Good Treatment For Marijuana Use Disorder? Researchers Aim To Find Out With New Study Plan

Researchers have published a new study plan to test whether hemp-derived CBD might offer an offramp for people with marijuana use disorder, potentially enabling them to reduce their consumption of THC.

The protocol, funded by a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and published in the journal PLoS ONE, lays out a procedure for a double-blind randomized trial involving “heavy, stable cannabis concentrate users that meet criteria for at least moderate cannabis use disorder and are seeking to decrease or stop cannabis use.”

Authors of the protocol, from the University of Colorado in Boulder and Denver, note that unlike THC, CBD “has no intoxicating effects, and little abuse liability among cannabis users.” They also point out that past research indicated CBD could reduce heroin-seeking behavior, cravings and anxiety in people with opioid dependence.

“Given the combined evidence of this prior work,” the paper says, “CBD combined with low dose THC might reduce withdrawal symptoms in abstaining cannabis users and this mechanism of action may drive the therapeutic effects of hemp-derived CBD on reducing cannabis use.”

Current research, authors point out, “is limited to synthetic or isolated forms of CBD that are not widely available.”

By contrast there have been “no tests of the hemp-derived CBD that is widely available without a prescription across the U.S.”

The researchers divide commercially available hemp products into two forms: full-spectrum (fsCBD), which they say contains roughly 0.3 percent THC—the legal limit for hemp products federally—and broad-spectrum (bsCBD), which does not contain any THC.

Bidwell et al. / PLoS ONE

“Our early data suggests CBD that also contains low levels of THC reduces THC drug reward, withdrawal, anxiety, and overall THC use in heavy concentrate users,” they wrote, “supporting the potential for hemp-derived CBD to reduce THC use and mitigate withdrawal in this high-risk group. However, no placebo-controlled trial has been conducted comparing hemp-derived CBD with and without THC on reducing THC use.”

The model would split participants into three groups and give each person eight softgels to take orally per day. Participants in the placebo group would receive no CBD, while those in the full-spectrum and broad-spectrum groups would receive a total of 400 milligrams of CBD per day.

All those in the study would participate in five psychotherapy sessions meant to support motivation for reducing marijuana use, and they would be evaluated on various measures relating to cannabis use disorder as well as mental and physical health.

“Extant data indicate that cannabis concentrate use is rapidly increasing and that heavy THC exposure leads to greater cannabis-related harms, including more cannabis use, withdrawal, and CUD symptoms,” the report says. “While the field currently has no existing medication to treat CUD, the non-intoxicating cannabinoid CBD shows promise as a candidate CUD medication and may reduce cannabis use and withdrawal, especially if higher doses and/or hemp-derived fsCBD are used.”

Though THC and CBD interact with the same receptors in the human brain, exactly how CBD modulates with the body’s relationship to THC is still being explored by scientists.

A study published recently, for example, found that contrary to widespread popular belief, CBD may actually heighten the experience of a marijuana high rather than diminish it.

The research, published in the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, found that people who took a high dose of CBD (450 mg) alongside a smaller, 9-mg dose of THC “did not reduce, but instead significantly increased subjective, psychomotor, cognitive, and autonomous effects of THC.” Smaller doses of CBD, such as 10 mg and 30 mg, did not appear to have the same effect.

The report was noteworthy in part because conventional wisdom among many in the cannabis community is that CBD can help lessen a too-intense marijuana high by blocking THC’s interaction with the brain’s CB1 receptors. The study suggests that at some level, CBD in fact begins to make the felt effects of cannabis more intense.

The findings added to other research indicating that combinations of cannabinoids and other chemicals in cannabis may produce a stronger high than THC on its own.

Separate research published last year, for example, found that cannabis products with a more diverse array of natural cannabinoids produced a stronger psychoactive experience that lasts longer than the high generated by pure THC alone.

Another scientific review, published this past spring, found that the “complex interaction between phytocannabinoids and biological systems offers hope for novel treatment approaches,” laying the groundwork for a new era of innovation in cannabis-based medicines.

Outside effects on humans, recent research also indicated that hemp leaf extract containing CBD could be a promising new natural insecticide, effectively killing larvae of mosquitoes that spread yellow fever—including one variety of the insect that’s resistant to conventional insecticides.

Authors from Ohio State University wrote that CBD “appears to be the principal active ingredient responsible for larvicidal activity.”

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Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney.