Over the past few years, Cannabidiol (CBD) has been growing in popularity due to its wide range of therapeutic uses. From CBD soda’s to gummies as well as body lotions and products marketed specifically for Pets, CBD’s are slowly becoming a household name. Just last week I was in a major grocery store and noticed they had an entire shelf dedicated to just CBD related items. This new and exciting cannabis compound is just beginning to realize its full potential.
Now to give you a little rundown, Cannabidiol is a cannabinoid compound that comes from the Cannabis Sativa plant and does not carry with it the psychoactive effects of THC. In recent years, CBD has attracted increasing interest from the Scientific community as a legitimate treatment for ailments such as Pain, Stress, PTSD, and Seizures. Now, thanks to a recent Canadian study at Mcgill University in Montreal, they are finding that CBD has a broad pharmacological profile, including interactions with several receptors known to regulate fear and anxiety-related behaviors. These anxiety-related disorders are associated with a diminished sense of well-being, higher rates of unemployment, relationship problems, and elevated suicide risk, giving hope that CBD’s can become the safer alternative to dangerous prescription medications such as Oxycontin, Xanax and Prozac.
The studies evidence strongly supports the prospect of CBD as a treatment for anxiety disorders as it exhibits a broad range of actions, relevant to multiple symptoms, including anxiety, panic, and anti-compulsive actions. It also appears to stimulate a decrease in autonomic arousal, a decrease in conditioned fear expression, enhancement of fear extinction, and prevention of the long-term effects of stress from anxiety. Lead study author Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University states unequivocally that, “Our findings elucidate the mechanism of action of CBD and show that it can be used as medicine without the dangerous side effects of THC.” Danilo De Gregorio, a post-doctoral fellow at McGill University added, “We found in animal models of chronic pain that low doses of CBD administered for seven days alleviate both pain and anxiety, two symptoms often associated in neuropathic or chronic pain.”
Since this was a study involving animals, a human-dosing equivalent still isn’t clear, but the findings bring us closer to an answer. More importantly, the results get us one step closer to understanding how CBD works with neurons in totally different ways than its well-known comrade THC. Now if these findings can be replicated in humans, we’re also closer to realizing CBD’s ability to deliver non-addictive pain and anxiety relief, offering patients on dangerous opioids, anti-anxiety and depression drugs a different option. In closing, I’d like to note that none of these discoveries would be possible without research, which until recently was frozen in time due to Federal restrictions. The times are changing though, as the FDA earlier this year approved the first CBD drug to treat severe forms of epilepsy. With countless studies currently being conducted around the globe, we should be seeing many more amazing discoveries in the near future.
