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Saturday, October 14, 2017

CBD and the Brain: What Does It Do and What Is It Good For?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of many cannabinoid molecules produced byCannabis, second only to THC in abundance. These plant-derived cannabinoids, or phytocannabinoids (phyto = plant in Greek), are characterized by their ability to act on the cannabinoid receptors that are part of our endocannabinoid system. While THC is the principal psychoactive component of Cannabis and has certain medical uses, CBD stands out because it is both non-psychoactive and displays a broad range of potential medical applications. These properties make it especially attractive as a therapeutic agent.

Evaluating the Evidence

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about CBD is the sheer number and variety of its potential therapeutic applications. It is important to recognize that each application may be supported by different levels of evidence. These range from ongoing clinical trials evaluating its efficacy in the treatment of human disorders, to animal studies investigating its behavioral and physiological effects, to in vitro work (test tube experiments) measuring its pharmacological interactions and mechanisms of action. Each type of study comes with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Clinical trials allow us to draw conclusions about the safety and effectiveness of potential therapeutic agents in humans, while animal studies and in vitro experiments allow researchers to explore their biological actions in greater detail. However, because the latter class of studies are not conducted in humans, the results don’t always lead to the clinical application that we hope for—the majority of drugs that start in human clinical trials never become approved. Nonetheless, animal studies provide us with a strong foundation of biological knowledge, and are where the initial breakthroughs in research are made.


Why Does CBD Have So Much Therapeutic Potential?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The withholding of cannabis from research facilities over the past 80 years was solely the doing of the U.S. government, driven by racist and political ideologies. Think of how many more treatment options there might now be for myriad conditions and diseases if that research had been able to have been conducted over those decades, particularly the last four decades as technology improved.

Anonymous said...

When someone uses race you know they are desperately lying.

Anonymous said...

This is a well written and informative article. Thanks for posting it.

superstardebater said...

And all the while holding TWO patents on pot.