In recent years, CBD has gained a lot of popularity in the health and wellness industry, going from a niche subject to mainstream hot debate. The controversy stems from cannabis-derived products such as CBD oil being associated with recreational marijuana use.
CBD stands for Cannabidiol, which is one of over 100 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. It’s the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) that is responsible for the psychoactive effects of smoking marijuana. CBD products usually are produced from hemp, a strain of the Cannabis sativa plant, which has a very low concentration of THC – below 0.3%.
If you’re reading this article because you’re interested in what CBD products can do for you, but you’re worried about the psychoactive effects, you can rest assured that these products won’t make you “high.” It’s this quality that has made them so appealing for those looking for relief from pain, anxiety, insomnia, and a series of other conditions.
Anxiety
Anxiety refers to a fear response we have as a species. Its role is to help us divert potential threats to our survival. When this response is excessive or maladaptive, it leads to disability. Symptoms of extreme fear are reported in many neuropsychiatric disorders like:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Panic disorder (PD)
- Phobias
- Social anxiety disorder (SAD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Just in the United States, these disorders have a prevalence of 29% and negatively impact the individual’s sense of well-being, relationships, and career opportunities.
Current pharmacological treatment options include:
- SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
- SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors)
- Benzodiazepines
- MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors)
- TCAs (tricyclic antidepressants)
- Partial 5-HT1A receptor agonists
- atypical antipsychotics
- anticonvulsants
Unfortunately, all these medications show limitations in terms of response rate, and their side-effects reduce adherence to treatment. This has made it necessary to do further research to develop new pharmaceutical treatments for anxiety-related disorders.
The Cannabidiol contained in CBD Hemp Oil has a comprehensive spectrum of applicability and has therefore generated interest as a treatment option in neuropsychiatric conditions, with existing preclinical studies showing strong evidence of its potential use for multiple anxiety disorders.
Studies have also been done on how well tolerated CBD is on the human body with good results for a wide range of dosage, up to 1500mg per day. By well-tolerated, we mean that there were no signs of negative impact on mood, vital signs, or psychomotor activity.
CBD works by interacting with the brain’s endocannabinoid system (eCB system), which plays an essential role in regulating emotional behavior, responses to emotionally aversive events, and learning. Activation of specific receptors in this system produces an anxiolytic effect, reducing the fear expression and preventing reconsolidation of the response. CBD also seems to minimize the impact of stress on the human body, such as elevated blood pressure and heart rate.
Epilepsy
On the 25th of June 2018, the FDA approved the CBD derived drug Epidolex for the treatment of seizures in two epilepsy conditions, namely Dravet syndrome and Gastaut syndrome.
Researchers have found CBD to be superior to placebo in decreasing the frequency of convulsive seizures in these two conditions. Since the medication is approved for patients from above two years of age, it offers a new treatment option for children suffering from these two forms of epilepsy.
The first detailed study of the applicability of cannabis-derived products in the treatment of seizures was published by Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy in 1843. He was a physician in the Bengal Army and worked as a Professor at the Medical College of Calcutta. After doing extensive animal studies, he proceeded to investigate the potential medical benefits of his tinctures in people and found remarkable improvements in recurrent convulsive seizures.
His observations were later expanded upon by other physicians, including Sir William Gowers, a British neurologist who practiced at the National Hospital for the Paralyzed and Epileptics in London. In the 20th century, many countries made the cultivation of the Cannabis plant illegal. As a consequence, use and research declined but has exploded in recent years because of mounting evidence on the role of endocannabinoids in synaptic transmission and neuronal firing.
Several studies show that the endogenous cannabinoid systems are altered in patients with convulsive seizures and that targeting these pathways can have therapeutic benefits by modulating seizure activity.
Pain Relief
Pharmacological treatment options for chronic pain also have side-effects and risks which reduce applicability and adherence. Since CBD has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, this has sparked interest in researching its potential benefits for conditions such as arthritis.
One study done on rats from 2016, published in the European Journal of Pain, has found evidence that CBD is effective in reducing joint swelling and pain. The degree of pain was determined from limb posture in the subjects. The results of this study suggest that CBD may be useful as a treatment for inflammation in mammals.
Another study on rat subjects focuses on the prevention and early phase treatment of osteoarthritis. Results showed that CBD could prevent nerve damage and reduce inflammatory responses in arthritic joints.
The UK and Canada have approved Nabiximols (Sativex), a drug that uses a combination of CBD and THC to treat pain associated with multiple scleroses (MS), and researchers believe that it’s the anti-inflammatory properties of this medication that make it useful in reducing pain.
In previous years there were the assumptions that the analgesic effects of the cannabis plant come from interacting with the CB1 cannabinoid receptors predominantly located in the central nervous system. The CB2 receptors found mainly in cells involved in the immune response, but preclinical studies in animals have increased our understanding of the chemical compounds of the plant. This has shown that these cannabinoids also act on multiple pain targets, suggesting the possibility of new therapeutical strategies for humans.
Cannabinoids seem to reduce neural inflammation, inhibit the release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, and activate inhibitory modulation of pain signals.
More extensive studies of longer duration will be necessary to give definitive answers regarding the long-term efficacy and safety of these products in the treatment of chronic pain. Still, the evidence from past research supports its potential use for medical purposes.