A New Study Explores CBD And THC Interaction
A new clinical trial suggests that a high dose of CBD taken with THC does not minimize the psychoactive effects. Researchers have previously reported that CBD reduces the adverse effects of THC. This new study is a small one, but its findings have many implications for using CBD as an analgesic or to minimize THC’s psychoactive effects.
CBD and THC are the two major cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. In this double-blind, randomized, double-dummy placebo-controlled study led by Andriy Gorbenko at the Center for Human Drug Research in the Netherlands, male and female participants aged 18 to 45 visited the clinic five times to take an oral drug. They were given a mix of 9 mg of THC with a placebo, 9 mg of THC with either 10, 30 or 450 mg of CBD or a placebo containing neither THC nor CBD. No one knew what they were taking. The THC and CBD were in tablet form.
Various clinical tests assessed the study participants before and after taking the compounds. They measured factors like alertness, mood, coordination, attention, perception, heart rate, pain and “high” feelings. The study found that CBD did not reduce THC’s adverse effects and did not increase THC’s analgesic properties. The 10 and 30 mg CBD doses did not significantly influence THC’s effects on cognitive abilities, motor skills and subjective effects like euphoria, intensified emotions, altered perception and change in sense of times and space (the THC high).
The high dose of 450 mg CBD taken with the 9 mg of THC did increase THC’s psychoactive effects. It is believed the high CBD dose had the psychoactive effect it did because the amount of THC and its psychoactive metabolite in the blood was elevated. This was likely due to how CBD interacted with THC, inhibiting the body’s metabolism of THC and enabling it to build up.
“We haven’t published this yet, but we can tell you that there is no evidence whatsoever that CBD is active on the central nervous system. It does not cause sedation or lead to subjective drug effects that our very sensitive test battery can pick up…, ” said study team member Geert Groeneveld.
This new study demonstrates there is still a lot to learn about the interaction of cannabinoids with the endocannabinoid system and how they work together. However, this does not negate the fact that tens of millions of people are reporting CBD does bring them relief, reduced discomfort and other benefits.
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