CBD has shown great promise in helping those struggling with addiction reduce drug cravings, increase effectiveness of other medications and protect brain cells against certain forms of cancer.
CBD may pose some risks. It may interact with other drugs and increase liver injury risks; additionally, many products sold on the market may not contain as much CBD as advertised.
Legality
CBD products should generally be classified as supplements rather than drugs; thus they’re unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration and their quality can differ wildly from one product to the next. Furthermore, manufacturers cannot make unfounded health or therapeutic claims in their marketing materials about them.
Service Members should be aware that CBD (and hemp) are legal purchases and uses in all 50 states; however, service members cannot sell or distribute products containing CBD unless prescribed with Epidiolex by an MD.
Vaping products containing CBD also pose additional concerns, as some of them could contain dangerous synthetic cannabinoids instead of CBD, as well as elevated levels of potentially toxic substances like acetone and propylene glycol that could potentially cause serious respiratory damage in some individuals. OPSS suggests selecting products produced and manufactured within the US using ingredients grown domestically as they use validated testing methods from an independent lab that adheres to established standards set by American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, U.S. Pharmacopoeia, NSF International or Association of Official Agricultural Chemists.
Dosage
Though CBD is generally safe, there may be potential side effects you should be wary of. It’s essential to follow dosage instructions on products, purchase from trusted sellers in order to avoid potentially contaminated CBD, and consult your physician prior to using CBD to make sure it won’t interact with medications you are already taking.
Carlini and Cunha29 conducted an early phase I safety study, administering oral CBD (20 and 40 mg doses) to two healthy participants and found it was well tolerated without producing any significant changes in blood tests or EEG recordings (known as experiment 1).
More research needs to be conducted into how CBD can best be utilized for different conditions, including anxiety, pain and depression. Most experts concur that people can safely take up to 1,500 mg of CBD per day. When starting with CBD for the first time it may be wise to start slowly by starting with small doses and slowly increasing. It would also be a good idea to keep a journal detailing how much you take daily as well as its effect on symptoms.
Safety
CBD has been shown to be well tolerated, without evidence of sedation or intoxication, and does not interfere with daily activities, such as driving a car or operating machinery.
One preclinical study demonstrated how CBD increased feelings of pleasure during submaximal exercise and decreased pain levels after exhaustive running, without altering oxygen consumption or heart rate. It is important to keep in mind that in vitro experiments used supraphysiological concentrations of CBD which may differ in terms of their pharmacokinetic properties than what might be experienced in humans.
Notably, CBD may interact with certain medications such as blood thinners and antiepileptic drugs, and may inhibit liver enzymes that break down other medications like Tylenol (acetaminophen). Therefore, it is crucial that before beginning CBD you notify your physician what other medicines you are taking; this will help avoid drug interactions that could result in adverse side effects. In addition, when selecting products manufactured under GMP conditions and holding certificates of analysis from independent labs.
Side effects
CBD has an overall favorable safety profile and the side effects that have been observed are generally not serious. They include changes in alertness – often somnolence; gastrointestinal distress (such as diarrhea and appetite changes); psychological effects like anxiety and stress;
CBD may interact with other medicines, either altering how they work or increasing the risk of side effects. Studies of Epidiolex, an FDA-approved CBD drug, demonstrated such interactions.
Orally administered CBD enters the bloodstream more quickly than topical formulations, reaching high concentration in around 30 minutes. This increases its risk of side effects when taken alongside drugs that slow brain activity or medications that impact liver damage; additionally, animal studies have observed male reproductive toxicity due to taking CBD for male offspring of female users or those taking it themselves.
