CBD is known to be the most therapeutic cannabinoid of the marijuana plant. It soothes seizures, upset stomachs, anxiety, aches, pains and now The American Journal of Psychiatry has published a new study showing CBD’s effectiveness at quelling psychotic episodes in schizophrenic patients.
Researchers in the UK assessed daily administration of CBD as an adjunct medication and compared it to placebo results. The patients receiving actual CBD got 1,000mg of the cannabis-derived medicine per day, along with their normal medications.
The results were outstanding. Over a six-week period, “improvements in cognitive performance and in the level of overall functioning,” were heightened and patients were more likely to be marked as “improved” or “not severely unwell” by their attending physician.
The study’s abstract conclusion promisingly reads, “These findings suggest that CBD has beneficial effects in patients with schizophrenia. As CBD’s effects do not appear to depend on dopamine receptor antagonism, this agent may represent a new class of treatment for the disorder.” This is very exciting news.
It may be wonderful to hear these results, but they’re probably not too surprising for those in the cannabis community. Many people report using CBD for severe anxiety disorder and CBD is perhaps most well-known for combatting seizure disorder. It makes sense that it would also act as an antipsychotic at higher dosages.
As CBD proves to be not only a viable medicine, but an incredibly important one as well, the world has eyes on new findings; one reason is because CBD is also a part of the plant that doesn’t get one “high,” yet mitigates the severe symptoms and ailments listed above. In other words, its use is medicinal in the truest sense, not recreational.
The Hemp Business Journal estimates that the CBD market will be at over $2 billion in consumer sales by 2020, with only $450 million of said sales coming from hemp derived product. That will be a 700 percent increase from 2016 and will hopefully also mean more good press for cannabinoids in general.
