Cannabidiol - Do we really have another antipsychotic in the offing?

Summary:

THC is pro-psychotic, but is cannabidiol antipsychotic? Do we really have another antipsychotic in the offing, one with a completely different mechanism than existing agents?

Oregon’s legalization of marijuana, enacted by a statewide referendum, is just now going into effect (July 2015). Ironically, recent case-control data have increased the certainty that cannabis use is associated with psychosis. The risk of individuals having a psychotic disorder showed a roughly 3-times increase in users of high potency cannabis compared with those who never used cannabis.1 “Skunk-like” cannabis has high concentrations of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), compared with hash-type (resin) marijuana.2

Into this changing landscape of marijuana use, which has raised realistic alarm about preventable psychosis in youth, comes new evidence for potential benefits from another marijuana component, cannabidiol (CBD). In a remarkably thorough review of existing evidence regarding the effects of cannabidiol, Drs Iseger and Bossong3 examine:

  1. The impact of the TSH/CBD ratio in the marijuana used on its pro-psychotic effects (8 studies)

  2. Effects of CBD on healthy volunteers, who were also given THC (7 studies)

  3. Neuroimaging after CBD in healthy volunteers (9 studies)

  4. Effects of CBD in patients with psychosis (5 studies)

Read the full article at:

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/bipolar-disorder/new-janus#sthash.vEkSh3UV.dpuf

REFERENCES

  1. Di Forti M, Marconi A, Carra E, et al. Proportion of patients in south London with first-episode psychosis attributable to use of high potency cannabis: a case-control study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2015;2:233-238. [pdf: http://www.thelancet.com/pb/assets/raw/Lancet/pdfs/14TLP0454_Di%20Forti.pdf]
  2. Freeman T. Potent questions about cannabis and mental health. Lancet Psychiatry. 2015;2:195-196.
  3. Iseger TA, Bossong MG. A systematic review of the antipsychotic properties of cannabidiol in humans. Schizophr Res. 2015;162:153-161.
  4. Leweke FM, Piomelli D, Pahlisch F, et al. Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry. 2012;2:e94. http://www.nature.com/tp/journal/v2/n3/full/tp201215a.html. Accessed July 1, 2015.
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CBD is more commonly found in indica sativa cannabis. Fairly efficient, be sure to drink water after every session should you decide to seek this treatment along with therapy and medication. Personally, found indica more beneficial though. Sativa is useful for physical tiredness at times.

Note: Not recommended for children in most cases, avoid smoking alone

That’s what my currente meds consist of …its not for everyone but I feel great.

You mean you’re smoking pot? or are you taking CBD oil? what dose?

Sorry for not being clear.

I am smoking a strain of marijuana that is beneficial to me ,that calms me down.

And ill tell you guys that we’ve been working with strains and mental illness for a long time.

Not until my pdoc officially declares it as such to me. I learned my lesson about self-medicating decades ago. I don’t take anything unless I get medical clearance first these days.

Pixel.

Yes - the only way people should ultimately take this is when its in a purified, high-quality form - that has been tested and validated in clinical tests. Its seems like that may happen - but its going to be a few years.

I think big pharma will go for cannabidiol substitutes so they can maximise their profits .

Might be very difficult to do that since the CBD is not a patentable formulation (I don’t think). My guess is that (if I’m right) Big P will do whatever it can to blow CBD out of the water by shoving money at efficacy researchers to demonstrate how “poorly” the stuff works and/or how dangerous it is.

Further, my sense is that CBD is only going to work for a narrow band (or maybe several narrow bands) in the overall sz spectrum. Wot say?

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That may be true - but it may also not be a bad thing.

In the USA - the FDA (which regulates these types of products) has said you cannot sell CBD oil as a supplement - so longer term there are not a lot of options (Smoking high CBD pot seems like it has the issue of lots of other chemicals - and lower CBD doses).

See this story:

FDA Brings Down Hammer on CBD Companies - Medical pot advocates say it may be a good thing.

And the FDA has sent warning letters out to current providers of CBD oil (so they have to stop selling it or risk being shut down entirely by the FDA

See this list:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm435591.htm

GW Pharma is a small pharma company that is working on bring the medication version of CBD:

More information on what they are doing is here:

And their research:

You can get medical cannabis with low THC, high CBD in two countries at least. The best is in Canada and then there is the Netherlands. The thing is that its actually legal all over Europe if you travel to Netherlands meet a doctor and get a prescription. Common EU laws state that you can then use it in whatever country you live in. There are two problems however:
a) they dont actually treat psychosis in Netherlands with CBD only epelipsy.
b) you might be charged with drug possesion, and it will be a hassle to refer to the european law

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