CBD in high doses could reduce methamphetamine addiction

New investigation carried out in rodents have discovered hitherto unknown results. It seems that high doses of cannabidiol (CBD) could decrease the consumption of methamphetamines. This is the reflection in the prestigious journal Journal of Psychopharmacology, which has published the results of a study tested on rats.

CBD to halt methamphetamine consumption

The Journal of Psychopharmacology is a prestigious publication specialized in medicine, which recently released a highly promising study. If this initial discovery is true, cannabidiol could be effective in treating people with addiction to methamphetamine, currently one of the most commonly abused substances on the entire planet.

The non psychoactive component of cannabis, CBD, has the ability to stop the urge to take methamphetamines. These first results have been demonstrated with experiments on rats.

“This is the first demonstration that cannabidiol can reduce the motivation to seek and consume methamphetamine, and suggests that cannabidiol is worth trying as a new pharmacotherapy for methamphetamine dependence.”

CBD for opioids and nicotine dependence

“Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant that can cause many adverse physical, psychological and psychosocial effects. Preliminary evidence shows that cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating component of the cannabis plant, may be effective in the treatment of opioid and nicotine dependence. However, no study has yet examined whether cannabidiol treatment could affect methamphetamine addiction.” We read in the report published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Understanding methamphetamine addiction

According to the author of the study, Jennifer Cornish, one of the objectives of her laboratory is to understand the neurobiology of addiction to this substance, in order to find cures to reduce the problem in society.

“Cannabinoids show promise as drugs for various disorders and mental health symptoms in preclinical models, including drug addiction and relapse in opioids and psychostimulants,” states the report.

CBD as a treatment in rodents

This research indicates that, in a preclinical setting, high doses of CBD can reduce methamphetamine use and also avoid relapse into this substance.

Many other studies need to be done in this field before CBD can be used with the human methamphetamine addicted population, but this study is a first step to understanding the potential use of CBD treatment in methamphetamine addiction.

“The main caveats here are that the study has been conducted in rodents and uses high doses of CBD, 80mg / kg However, there is a substantial overlap between the neurobiology of rats and humans, and preclinical studies such as this provide important information about the possible use of new chemicals in human disorders”, explained Cornish.

Medicinal cannabis, much to discover

Jennifer Cornish insisted on the importance for society of understanding how medical cannabis can embrace a wide range of chemicals found in the cannabis plant. She added that many of them are not psychoactive, unlike delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive element of the plant. And that each element may have a medical application yet to be discovered.

Starting point for a treatment

The rats showed no change in behaviour at concentrations of 20 and 40 mg / kg, but when the researchers increased the doses to 80 mg / kg these rodents showed less interest in the self-dose of methamphetamine and their relapses decreased. The authors stated that their research is the first to demonstrate that CBD can reduce methamphetamine addiction.

From the set of data collected, treatments can be designed that highlight the effectiveness of CBD as a therapy for methamphetamine addiction, and mechanisms by which cannabidiol can reduce the intake of methamphetamine. Understanding these mechanisms may result in more targeted therapies, which will work like the CBD, but with smaller therapeutic doses.