Cannabidiol or CBD is an extract of Cannabis sativa plant, also known as marijuana or hemp. Among more than 80 chemicals, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the major active ingredient in marijuana which is mainly responsible for the psychotic effect but cannabidiol contains very small amounts of THC. It belongs to cannabinoid drug class which elimination half-life is 18-32 hours.
Uses of CBD
Cannabidiol is popular in treating diseases for its non psychotic effect. It is a FDA approved compound which is used in various drugs, food as well as cosmetics.
- It’s mainly prescribed for epileptic disorders, such as dravet syndrome and lennox-gastaut syndrome (LGS).
- CBD is effective for treating pain, muscle tightness, and urination frequency in people who are suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).
- CBD is applied on the skin to lower pain and inflammation which is caused by arthritis.
- It has a minor effect in the treatment of crohn disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease), insomnia, schizophrenia, diabetes, anxiety, etc.
- Research finds that about 40% of smokers quit smoking after inhaling cannabidiol with an inhaler for one week.
- Applying cannabidiol oil to the skin might improve nerve function in people with TMD (temporomandibular disorders).
Side Effects of CBD
Though cannabidiol is quite well tolerated but it has some side effects which are listed below.
It shows some side effects when taken by mouth, such as
- Dry mouth. Though most of the test result says, these side effects use a mixture of CBD and THC. So, it leads that any THC present in your CBD oil is probably responsible for your dry mouth.
- Nausea. This is actually a very common effect of taking cannabis products.
- Increase the level of the blood thinner Coumadin in blood,
- Sometimes it increases the heart rate.
- You can feel lower blood pressure.
- It can create light headache and drowsiness.
- Diarrhea, though the other elements is CBD oil can be the reason for it as CBD itself has gastroprotective qualities.
- It can reduce appetite.
- Irritability.
- Signs of liver injury have also been reported in some patients but this is not so common.
But no side effect has been found when it applied to the skin.
Another drawback for cannabidiol containing products is its purity and dosage. A recent study showed that more than a quarter of products contained a lesser quantity of CBD than they had claimed.
Common Drug-drug Interactions
CBD interacts with concomitant administration of some other drug compounds. For example,
- Blood thinning agents, such as warfarin, rivaroxaban,
- Steroid and corticosteroids (hydrocortisone, cortisone),
- Antihistamines (brompheniramine, cetirizine),
- Calcium channel blockers (amlodipine, diltiazem),
- Antibiotics (amoxicillin, doxycycline, cephalexin)
- Immune modulators (Immune globulins, bacterial and viral vaccines)
- Beta-blockers (acebutolol, atenolol, betaxolol)
- HIV antiviral (abacavir, didanosine), etc.
Special Precautions & Warnings
Some precautions should be taken while using CBD which are given below.
- For pregnant and breastfeeding women, using CBD is possibly unsafe because it can be contaminated with other ingredients that are harmful to the fetus or infant.
- Dosing adjustment is required for people with liver diseases.
- CBD products are safe for children of 1 year and older.
- It may be suppressed immune system, risk of bleeding, or worse when leading to an overdose.
- Without any doctor’s prescription CBD containing products should not be used.
- To minimize its side effects proper dosing is required.
These things you should keep in your mind before starting using CBD products. Have a healthy life.