A recent study examining the combined effects of THC and CBD suggests that, contrary to popular belief, CBD may actually enhance the marijuana high experience, rather than lessen it. has been.
The study, published in the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, found that people who took a high dose of CBD (450 mg) along with a smaller dose of 9 mg of THC “improved subjective, psychomotor, and cognitive function. It was found that there was a significant increase, rather than a decrease, in , autonomous effects of THC. ”
Smaller amounts of CBD, such as 10 mg or 30 mg, don't seem to have the same effect.
One reason this study's findings are noteworthy is that many in the cannabis community believe that CBD blocks the interaction of THC with the brain's CB1 receptors, thereby reducing the overly intense marijuana high. This is because it is commonly believed that it is useful for This study suggests that at some level, CBD actually starts to make the perceived effects of cannabis more powerful.
“Contrary to what is commonly hypothesized in the[popular]literature, CBD did not reduce the negative effects of THC.”
A seven-person research team from the Netherlands and the United States wrote the new report, examining the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 37 healthy volunteers.
The research team was trying to test the hypothesis that CBD reduces the negative effects of THC. If confirmed, the researchers thought the effect could help make therapeutic THC more tolerable for chronic pain patients by reducing the psychoactive effects of the substance.
However, evidence showed the opposite effect. Furthermore, the addition of CBD does not seem to provide additional analgesic effects.
“This study found no evidence that CBD reduced the harmful effects of THC. On the contrary, the effects of THC were significantly increased by 450 mg of CBD.”
“These results provide evidence against the hypothesis that CBD attenuates the effects of THC, highlight the potential for drug interactions even at low doses of CBD, and advance our understanding of THC analgesia,” the authors report It's written in a book.
One of the authors, Geert van Groeneveld, professor at Leiden University Medical Center and CEO of the Center for Human Drug Research, said the team's findings show that CBD can reduce anxiety and counteract the negative effects of THC. He emphasized that he refutes the idea that this is possible.
“CBD in no way reduces the psychomimetic effects of THC or reduces anxiety,” Groeneveld told PsyPost. “Rather, CBD inhibits the breakdown of THC in the liver, thereby enhancing the effects of THC at higher dosage levels.”
The study's conclusions add to previous findings that the combination of cannabinoids and other chemicals in cannabis can cause a more intense high than THC alone.
For example, another study published last year found that cannabis products containing a greater variety of natural cannabinoids produced stronger and longer-lasting psychoactive experiences than the high produced by pure THC alone.
Another scientific review published this spring found that “complex interactions between phytocannabinoids and biological systems offer hope for new therapeutic approaches” and encouraged innovation in cannabis-based medicine. The foundation for a new era has been laid.
The report, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, highlighted the potential for whole-plant cannabis medicine that incorporates a variety of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds produced by the cannabis plant, rather than just THC or CBD alone.
While the results of a new study suggest that CBD is less effective at reducing the side effects of consuming THC, another study published earlier this year found that D-, a terpene produced by marijuana, Limonene was found to reduce anxiety and paranoia in people who took THC.
However, while terpenes modulated the anxiety-like effects, they otherwise appeared to have minimal impact on participants' experiences.
The addition of D-limonene, which is found in many citrus fruits in addition to cannabis and has an orange-like odor, “has little effect on other common acute subjective, cognitive, or physiological effects of THC. the researchers found. On the other hand, inhaling vaporized terpenes alone “did not produce acute effects distinct from placebo.”
Researchers identify “previously undiscovered cannabis compound'' that gives marijuana strains their distinctive aroma
Photo courtesy of Kimsey Nanny.
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