Scientists have found that high doses of cannabidiol (CBD) do not reduce but instead enhance the psychoactive effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), challenging the belief that CBD mitigates THC’s adverse effects.
Source: CBD amplifies THC’s impact instead of mitigating it, new cannabis research reveals
fta:
Contrary to popular belief that CBD can reduce the negative effects of THC, the study found that CBD did not mitigate these adverse effects. In fact, a high dose of CBD (450 mg) significantly enhanced the effects of THC, likely due to a pharmacokinetic interaction that increased THC levels in the bloodstream.
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“People active in the cannabis field always say that CBD takes off the edge from THC, anxiety can be less, there is an ‘entourage effect’ of other cannabinoids that plays a role in how THC in cannabis is experienced, but the scientific evidence was very thin. We are pharmacologists and know how to scientifically demonstrate interaction between drugs, which is why we performed a rigorous scientific experiment,” explained study author Geert Jan Groeneveld, a professor of clinical neuropharmacology at Leiden University Medical Center and CEO of the Centre for Human Drug Research.
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Rather than reducing THC’s effects, the researchers found that the highest dose of CBD (450 mg) significantly increased them. Participants reported feeling more intoxicated, and their cognitive and psychomotor performance was more impaired compared to when they took THC alone. This increase in effects was likely due to CBD interfering with the metabolism of THC, leading to higher levels of THC and its psychoactive metabolite in the bloodstream.
