Academic Resources
DEDICATED TO PAST RESEARCH FINDINGS, FUTURE STUDIES & THE INTRODUCTION OF NOVEL TREATMENT PLANS
The use of cannabinoids to treat a multitude of symptoms and ailments is not a recent phenomenon. Historical reports of cannabis practices and their benefits date back as far as the second millennium BCE in Assyrian manuscripts.
With America’s recent state and federal law changes, cannabinoid popularity has peaked in recent years, creating both myths and truths about the cannabis plant’s clinical potential. Find below a sample of resources that detail the positive, individual effects of the natural plant.
Pain
CANNABIDIOL INFLUENCES PAIN RESPONSE
“The present study has shown for the first time that CBD injected either systemically or into the rACC induces a long-lasting anti-allodynic effect with a bell-shaped dose-response curve in a rat model of incision pain… gives further support to the notion that the sensorial and affective dimensions of pain may be differentially modulated by CBD.”
Genaro, Karina, et al. (2017). Cannabidiol Is a Potential Therapeutic for the Affective-Motivational Dimension of Incision Pain in Rats.
SOURCE: Frontiers in Pharmacology
Sleep
CANNABIS MAY PRODUCE IMPROVED SLEEP
A 2014 article by Babson & Bonn-Miller indicated that over 83 percent of surveyed patients taking cannabis for pain said they experienced improved sleep.
Babson, Kim A., et al. (2014). Sleep Disturbances: Implications for Cannabis Use, Cannabis Use Cessation, and Cannabis Use Treatment.
Source: Current Addiction Reports
USE OF CANNABIDIOL MAY CUT INSOMNIA
“Preliminary research into cannabis and insomnia suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of insomnia…CBD may [also] hold promise for REM sleep behavior disorder and excessive daytime sleepiness.”
Babson, Kim A., et al. (2017). Cannabis, Cannabinoids, and Sleep: a Review of the Literature.
Source: Current Psychiatry Reports
Depression
CB1 Receptors Release Dopamine When Stimulated
“We examined the effect of cannabinoid receptor activation on basal and electrical field simulation-evoked…This is the first neurochemical evidence that the activation of CB1 cannabinoid receptors leads to the augmentation of [(3)H]dopamine efflux…”
Sperlagh, Beata, et al. (2009). Neurochemical Evidence that Stimulation of CB1 Cannabinoid Receptors on GABAergic Nerve Terminals Activates the Dopaminergic Reward System by Increasing Dopamine Release in the Rat Nucleus Accumbens.
Source: ScienceDirect
Happiness May be Produced with Increased Endocannabinoid Receptor Signaling
This 2014 study concluded that “preclinical data…has shown that elevated endocannabinoid signaling is able to produce behavioral and biochemical effects as [well as] conventional antidepressant treatment, and that many antidepressants alter endogenous cannabinoid tone.”
Matsunaga Masahiro, et al. (2014). Genetic Variations in the Human Cannabinoid Receptor Gene Are Associated with Happiness.
Source: PLoS ONE
Anxiety
CANNABIDIOL INHIBITS ANXIETY IN STUDY
“Our results are consonant with evidence from preclinical studies and support the view that CBD induces acute anxiolytic effects with an inverted U-shaped dose-response curve in humans. These findings stress the importance of the careful choice of dose ranges when investigating the potential therapeutic effects of CBD.”
Zuardi, Antonio W., et al. (2017). Inverted U-Shaped Dose-Response Curve of the Anxiolytic Effect of Cannabidiol during Public Speaking in Real Life
SOURCE: Frontiers in Pharmacology
CANNABIDIOL REDUCES SOCIAL ANXIETY SYMPTOMS IN PUBLIC SPEAKING STUDY
“This preliminary study aimed to compare the effects of a simulation public speaking test (SPST) on healthy control (HC) patients and treatment-naïve SAD patients who received a single dose of CBD or placebo…Pretreatment with CBD significantly reduced anxiety, cognitive impairment and discomfort in their speech performance, and significantly decreased alert in their anticipatory speech…”
Bergamaschi, MM., et al., (2011). Cannabidiol reduces the anxiety induced by simulated public speaking in treatment-naïve social phobia patients.
Source: Neuropsychopharmacology
STUDY SUPPORTS CANNABIDIOL AS A TREATMENT FOR MULTIPLE ANXIETY DISORDERS
“…We found that existing preclinical evidence strongly supports CBD as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder when administered acutely… Overall, current evidence indicates CBD has considerable potential as a treatment for multiple anxiety disorders, with need for further study of chronic and therapeutic effects in relevant clinical populations.”
Blessing, Esther M., et al. (2015) Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders
Inflammation
PHYTO-CANNABINOIDS AND TERPENOIDS MAY DECREASE INFLAMMATION
“…a wealth of information also indicates that these drugs [phyto-cannabinoids] have immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties; therefore, on the basis of this mode of action, the therapeutic usefulness of these drugs in chronic inflammatory diseases is now being reassessed.”
Klein, Thomas W. (2005). Cannabinoid-Based Drugs as Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutics.
Source: Nature Reviews Immunology
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY BENEFITS OF CANNABIDIOL
“This review discusses recent studies suggesting that cannabidiol may have utility in treating a number of human diseases and disorders now known to involve activation of the immune system and associated oxidative stress, as a contributor to their etiology and progression. These include rheumatoid arthritis, types 1 and 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer disease, hypertension, the metabolic syndrome, ischemia-reperfusion injury, depression, and neuropathic pain.”
Booz, George W. (2011) Cannabidiol as an Emergent Therapeutic Strategy for Lessening the Impact of Inflammation on Oxidative Stress.
Source: Free Radical Biology and Medicine
STUDY FINDS CANNABINOIDS PRODUCE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES IN AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS
“Cannabinoids suppress inflammatory response and subsequently attenuate disease symptoms…Cannabinoids have been tested in several experimental models of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and hepatitis and have been shown to protect the host from the pathogenesis through induction of multiple anti-inflammatory pathways…Cannabinoids may also be beneficial in certain types of cancers that are triggered by chronic inflammation. In such instances, cannabinoids can either directly inhibit tumor growth or suppress inflammation and tumor angiogenesis.”
Nagarkatti, Prakash, et al. (2009). Cannabinoids as Novel Anti-Inflammatory Drugs.
Source: Future Medicinal Chemistry
CANNABINOIDS SUPPRESS INFLAMMATORY & NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN STUDY
“…systemic and intrathecal administration of cannabidiol (CBD)… and its modified derivatives significantly suppress chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain without causing apparent analgesic tolerance.”
Xiong, W., et al. (2012). Cannabinoids Suppress Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain by Targeting a3 Glycine Receptors.
Source: Journal of Experimental Medicine
Antioxidant
POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANT CANNABIDIOL IN STUDY STRENGTHENS CELLS
“… if there are too many free radicals and not enough antioxidants present in the body, free radicals can go as far as stealing particles from your DNA, which can lead to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis, autism, heart disease, Parkinson’s, and stroke to name a few. This damage is known as oxidation. This is the same process that rusts metal or turns an apple brown after it is cut. Too much oxidation is likely to make us sick and old before our time. In the same way that paint protects metal from rusting or lemon juice protects apples from turning brown, cannabinoids protect our cells from oxidation.”
Whiteley, Nishi. Chronic Relief: A Guide to Cannabis for the Terminally and Chronically Ill. Alivio LLC, 2016. Print.
USA GOVERNMENT PATENT: CANNABINOIDS AS ANTIOXIDANTS & NEUROPROTECTANTS
The US government filed Federal Patent #US6630507 B1 in 1999 that specifically identifies cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants, explaining that cannabinoids work in different ways to help repair oxidative damage. “The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases…”
Migraines
CANNABINOID RECEPTORS MAY EASE MIGRAINE-ASSOCIATED PAIN
“The findings suggest that the molecular environment in which periosteal pain fibers exist contain abnormal expression of genes that promote inflammation.” In this environment, endocannabinoids and phyto-cannabinoids inhibited receptors were discovered to control vomiting and pain, working to block these symptoms, in a chronic migraine patient.”
Burstein, R., et al. (2014). “EHMTI-0354. Abnormal Expression of Gene Transcripts Linked to Inflammatory Response in the Periosteum of Chronic Migraine Patients: Implications to Extracranial Origin of Headache.”
Source: The Journal of Headache and Pain
MIGRAINE PATIENTS FOUND TO HAVE ENDOCANNABINOID DYSFUNCTION IN STUDY
In this study, endocannabinoid levels were decreased in patients with chronic migraines, supporting “the potential involvement of a dysfunctioning of the endocannabinoid and serotonergic systems in the pathology of CM [chronic migraine].”
Rossi, Cristiana, et al. (2008). Endocannabinoids in Platelets of Chronic Migraine Patients and Medication-Overuse Headache Patients: Relation with Serotonin Levels.
Source: European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
SURVEYS SHOW CANNABIS TREATS MIGRAINES
“In a survey of nine California clinics…40.7% patients self-reported that cannabis had therapeutic benefits for headaches and migraines… Other studies have looked specifically at the change in the occurrence of headache disorders with use of cannabis. One retrospective study described 121 patients who received cannabis for migraine treatment, among whom 85.1% of these patients reported a reduction in migraine frequency… These results indicate that cannabis may be an effective treatment option for certain migraine sufferers.”
Lochte, Bryson C., et al. (Published Online 2017). The Use of Cannabis for Headache Disorders.
Source: Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (ibs)
IBS MAY BENEFIT FROM CANNABIDIOL
“Animal models of cannabinoid chemistry and physiology give evidence of anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, and nociceptive-limiting properties. Human studies have found benefit in controlling symptoms and improving quality of life…The use of cannabinoid compounds in murine models of colitis demonstrates improvements in inflammation.”
Swaminath, Arun, et al. (2018). The Role of Cannabis in the Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Review of Clinical, Scientific, and Regulatory Information: Commissioned by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
Source: Oxford Academic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
nAUSEA
RESEARCH FINDS CANNABINOIDS PREVENTS OR LIMITS NAUSEA & VOMITING
“The actions of the ECS appear to be largely homeostatic, contributing importantly to the regulation of motility and inflammation in the GI tract…Cannabis is an effective anti-emetic and is used in the clinic…[and]…also prevents or limits the sensation of nausea [and vomiting]…The effects of activating cannabinoid receptors in the GI tract include a reduction in motility, reduced inflammation, and reduced immune activation.”
Sharkey, Keith A. (2016). The Role of the Endocannabinoid System in the Brain-Gut Axis.
Source: Gastroenterology
NAUSEA & VOMITING SUPPRESSED BY CANNABIDIOL INTAKE IN PRECLINICAL RESEARCH
“Considerable evidence demonstrates that manipulation of the endocannabinoid system regulates nausea and vomiting in humans and other animals…The primary non-psychoactive compound in cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD), also suppresses nausea and vomiting within a limited dose range….Preclinical research indicates that cannabinoids, including CBD, may be effective clinically for treating both nausea and vomiting produced by chemotherapy or other therapeutic treatments.”
Parker, Linda A., et al. (2011). Regulation of Nausea and Vomiting by Cannabinoids.
Source: British Journal of Pharmacology
Cognitive Functioning
LOW DOSES OF THC PROMOTE HEALTHY BRAIN AGING IN MICE
“Here we show that a low dose of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) reversed the age-related decline in cognitive performance…This behavioral effect was accompanied by enhanced expression of synaptic marker proteins and increased hippocampal spine density. THC treatment restored hippocampal gene transcription patterns…Thus, restoration of CB1 signaling in old individuals could be an effective strategy to treat age-related cognitive impairments.”
Bilkei-Gorzo, A., et al. (2017). A chronic low dose of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) restores cognitive function in old mice.
Source: Nature Medicine
Neurological Disorders
COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IMPROVES WITH CANNABIDIOL IN STUDY’S MODEL
“CBD improves cognition in multiple preclinical models of cognitive impairment, including models of neuropsychiatric (schizophrenia), neurodegenerative (Alzheimer’s disease), neuro-inflammatory (meningitis, sepsis and cerebral malaria) and neurological disorders (hepatic encephalopathy and brain ischemia).
Osborne, AL., et al. (2017). A Systematic Review of the Effect of Cannabidiol on Cognitive Function: Relevance to Schizophrenia.
Source: Neuroscience and BioBehavioral Reviews
PTSD
CANNABIDIOL – A POSSIBLE AID TO PTSD
“…results suggest the CBD disrupts the consolidation of different fear memories via anandamide-mediated activation of DH CB1 and CB2 receptors.”
Stern, CAJ, et al. (2017). Cannabidiol disrupts the consolidation of specific and generalized fear memories via dorsal hippocampus CB1 and CB2 receptors.
Source: Neuropharmacology
Blood Pressure
STUDY FINDS CANNABIDIOL REDUCES HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
“Our data show that a single dose of CBD reduces resting blood pressure and the blood pressure response to stress, particularly cold stress, and especially in the post-test periods. This may reflect the anxiolytic and analgesic effects of CBD, as well as any potential direct cardiovascular effects…Giving the increasing use of CBD as a medicinal product, these hemodynamic changes should be considered for people taking CBD.”
Jadoon, Khalid A, et al. (2017). A Single Dose of Cannabidiol Reduces Blood Pressure in Healthy Volunteers in a Randomized Crossover Study.
Source: JCI Insight
Parkinson's Disease
CANNABIS MAY LESSEN SYMPTOMS OF PARKINSON DISEASE
“Medical cannabis was found to improve symptoms of PD in the initial stages of treatment and did not cause major adverse effects in this pilot, 2-center, retrospective survey. The extent of use and the reported effects lend support to further development of safer and more effective drugs derived from Cannabis sativa.”
Balesh, Y., et al. (2017). Medical Cannabis in Parkinson Disease: Real-Life Patients’ Experience.
Source: Clinical Neuropharmacology
Seizures
CANNABIDIOL: A TREATMENT SUPPORT FOR SEIZURES AND AUTISTIC-LIKE SOCIAL BEHAVIORS
“We demonstrate here that treatment with CBD is beneficial for seizure frequency, duration, and severity and for autistic-like social deficits…CBD rescue of DS symptoms is associated with increased inhibitory neurotransmission, potentially mediated by antagonism of the lipid-activated G protein-coupled receptor GPR55. These studies lend critical support for treatment of seizures in DS with CBD, extend the scope of CBD treatment to autistic-like behaviors, and provide initial mechanistic insights into CBD’s therapeutic actions.”
Kaplan, Joshua, et al. (2017). Cannabidiol Attenuates Seizures and Social Deficits in a Mouse Model of Dravet Syndrome.
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
CANNABIDIOL REDUCES CONVULSIVE SEIZURES IN SELECT STUDY
“Among patients with the Dravet syndrome, cannabidiol resulted in a greater reduction in convulsive-seizure frequencythan placebo and was associated with higher rates of adverse events.”
Devinsky, Orrin, et al. (2017). Trial of Cannabidiol for Drug-Resistant Seizures in the Dravet Syndrome.
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
Acne
CANNABIDIOL’S FIGHT ON ACNE
“Collectively, our findings suggest that, due to the combined lipostatic, antiproliferative, and anti-inflammatory effects, CBD has potential as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of acne vulgaris.”
Olah, A., et al. (2014). Cannabidiol Exerts Sebostatic and Anti-inflammatory Effects on Human Sebocytes.
Source: Journal of Clinical Investigation