This month we celebrate National Recovery Month and we thought it would be a good idea to talk about CBD and other non-intoxicating cannabinoids like CBDa and how they might offer potential treatment for drug addiction and long term recovery as well as answer some other pressing questions like: is CBD addictive? and will CBD get me high?
What We Know
A search for clinical trials on https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ for “addiction” and “cbd” yields 9 current and/or completed clinical trials. These trials are being conducted on the beneficial use of CBD for drug related addiction.
A 2015 systematic review of 21 eligible studies on CBD as a potential therapeutic treatment for addiction showed promise for treating drug addiction related to:
- Cocaine
- Opioid
- Cannabis
- Tobacco
- Psychostimulants
CBD and its acidic precursor CBDa found in raw cannabis and raw hemp are both non-intoxicating and have no known addictive tendencies. In fact non-intoxicating cannabinoids like CBD and CBDa may in fact help with drug addiction withdrawal systems and dependency
How Does CBD Help With Addiction & Recovery?
CBD and it’s acidic precursor CBDa are both an agonist of 5-HT1a serotoninergic receptors and to regulate stress response and compulsive behaviors. CBD interacts with multiple neural circuits involved in the acquisition of addiction and subsequent drug-seeking behaviors, making it an important pharmacological tool to treat substance-use disorders and aid recovery from addiction.
CBD and CBDa exercise their effects via several neural mechanisms relevant to addictive disorders. Its action on the ECBS as a weak inverse agonist on CB1 receptors has been suggested to play a role in substance-use disorder, but other mechanisms are also involved.
CBD and CBDa seem to have direct effects on addictive behaviors, but their therapeutic potential could also be enhanced by several properties that contribute indirectly to addictive disorders. For example, their antianxiety, antidepressant and anticonvulsant properties as well as their impact on pain may be extremely useful in recovering from and prolonged sobriety from drug related addiction.
Cannabidiol or CBD for short found in Cannabis and Hemp is non-addictive and may offer possible treatment for hard drug addiction.
Is CBD Addictive?
In humans, CBD as well as CBDa exhibit no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential. To date, there is no evidence of recreational use of CBD or any public health related problems associated with the use of pure CBD. Because CBD and CBDa do not get you “high” they have no addictive properties and actually help with withdrawal symptoms and may even pose a path to treatment for serious drug addicts.
Conclusion
We believe that cannabis is a gateway out of drug addiction. Former heroin, crack and meth addicts can turn to non-toxic CBD-rich topicals, tinctures and edibles to help with drug related addiction and recovery. Of course anything can be abused and there are some people that develop THC dependency, but because CBD and CBDa have no potential for abuse, the plant seems to offer a way out of drug addiction rather than being a gateway to drug addiction.
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