If you are familiar with the benefits of CBD as a plant-based medicine, you likely aware of the power to reduce inflammation, relieve chronic pain, help sleep, lower anxiety, and even get your dog to stop barking so much when you leave the house. Well this miracle plant that works off your body’s natural endocannabinoid system can add a new medicinal benefit to the very long list of conditions it can help.

A study was recently released from the American Journal of Psychiatry, that suggests proper doses of CBD can relieve stress and anxiety that is often the trigger of relapse in addiction.

It has been well documented in recent studies that working off the power of the body’s endocannabinoid system, CBD has the ability to bring the body to homeostasis(a state of  chemical equilibrium), leading to impressive results of reducing anxiety, boosting moods, and calming inflammation. A documentation of proving more and more results of lowering anxiety and cortisol (the body’s stress chemical)  and boosting serotonin (the body’s happiness chemical) researchers wanted to take it a step further to see how this may work for addicts detoxing off prescription drugs. Our country is facing a detrimental problem with opioid and heroin addiction. Both of these drugs, intensely addicting, are extremely challenging to kick because of the likelihood for users to relapse to due cravings triggered by stress and anxiety. “The intense craving is what drives drug use,” said Yasmin Hurd, the lead researcher on the newly released study and director of the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai.  “If we can dampen that [craving], that can greatly reduce the chance of relapse and overdose risk.”

In the midst of a public health epidemic, the only current treatment for opioid addicts, is more medication; methadone and buprenorphine. These drugs have saved many lives, but there is still a large gap in accessibility, as they are prescription medications. With the hope to find alternative solutions, more holistic and natural, researchers turned to CBD.

The Study:

Hurd, choose participants of the study who had stopped using heroin, but were still vulnerable to relapse. Half of the participants were given medical grade CBD and the other half a placebo in as a double blind study, meaning neither the participants nor researchers knew who received which treatment. Participants were tested by watching videos of people using drugs and other drug-related images that would likely trigger a cravings and stress. During the treatment, participants were monitored for positive and negative affect, cognition, and physiological status.

The Results:

Participants that had been given the placebo reacted strongly to the situation. Heart rates went up, and high levels cortisol were measured. Those who had been given the CBD had a different experience. “Those who received the CBD, they showed a reduction of their craving and they also showed a reduction of their anxiety,” says Hurd.

Our Take:

As CBD continues to prove to be a medicine that can treat a variety of ailments, disease and sickness, it is important to consider factors such a dosage, grade, other medications, and strength of the CBD. At A Healthy Solution we make sure that every client is consulted and dosed through our Registered Nurse to receive the best experience with this medicinal healing. Something to note is that the CBD used in the study was a high dose, pharmaceutical grade, pure form of the compound.  This type of product isn’t available at medical dispensaries at this time. Currently, AHS does have a program that we use CBD product in line with the products of this study. To learn more about our detox program please contact Lorraine.