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CBD Oil (Cannabidiol) has been celebrated to assist and relieve a variety of symptoms. Disorders related to anxiety and depression also happen to be some of the most common. There are studies that have been able to show its positive effects.
However, there has been some more recent research that has shown its beneficial effects on psychosis. Now new clinical research reveals eye opening details of the antipsychotic qualities on CBD on the brain.
The Healing Characteristics Of Cannabis
Cannabis has long been touted to have strong medicinal qualities. It has been used for centuries as a medicinal plant. Cannabis proponents have pushed for more mainstream acceptance over the years using its medicinal qualities as a reason to remove the taboo.
It’s certainly true that medicinal cannabis has become more accepted in recent years. Recently, what we have learned is that fully understanding cannabis has been a bit more complex than previously thought.
For example most have pointed to THC (the more widely known cannabinoid in the cannabis plant) as being very useful for medicinal purposes (outside of the recreational drug uses). Originally these were used in cancer cases. However, now we are able to understand there are many more cannabinoids that are present in the plant. One that has the strongest medicinal qualities is CBD.
CBD is a non-psychoactive substance that has strong medicinal qualities and actually balances out the psychoactive high caused by THC. Additionally, other cannabis varieties such as Hemp have very low levels of THC and high levels of CBD. This makes them ideal for medicinal use.
Could many of the medicinal qualities that have been associated with cannabis plants actually be from CBD?
CBD Uses In Anxiety, Depression Related Disorders
CBD has been hailed for its usefulness for anxiety related disorders. Those who use it report more calmness, less anxiety and even better ability to sleep. It even goes further where patients have reported its usefulness in disorders such as PTSD.
Now that we are beginning to understand how CBD functions in conjunction with the endocannabinoid system, has there been any studies on how it can actually impact parts of the brain? Specifically parts of the brain that are directly affected by these types of conditions?
Well the answer is yes. In fact one was performed that used current technology that can show specifically how the brain was affected from the use of CBD in a double blind clinical study.
New Study Utilized MRI Images To Study CBD’s Effects On The Brain
A 2018 study was performed in London, UK utilizing a double blind clinical trial with CBD. The study would use 33 individuals at a clinical high risk of psychosis. Of the total 33 participants 16 actually received a single dose (600 mg) of CBD. The additional 17 received the placebo and they were compared with 19 healthy individuals.
Results were compared with each group which also included imaging utilizing a MRI machine. These results would give researchers details on how the areas of the brain were impacted.
The data from the research was able to show that even with one single dose CBD was able to normalize dysfunction in the brain regions implicated in psychosis. This was able to highlight some of the therapeutic effects CBD can have on psychosis.
A larger sample size will be needed for further study however the clinical data adds to the growing evidence of the antipsychotic effects of CBD. Additionally, researchers again mentioned that CBD is advantageous due to its safety and seems to be well tolerated.
Here is the original full study shared with JAMA Psychiatry.
Other articles referencing the study can be found here (2018 posting) & here (2020 version).
I hope you found this information helpful.
If you have questions or comments please leave a comment below or contact me.
Stay empowered and informed.
