Non-Psychotropic Cannabinoid Is "Safe," "Well Tolerated" In Humans, Study Says

Thursday, 22 December 2011


"CBD is non-toxic ... and does not alter psychomotor or psychological functions"


Sao Paulo, Brazil: The administration of the non-psychotropic cannabis plant constituent cannabidiol (CBD) is "non-toxic" to healthy cells and is "well tolerated" in humans, according to review data published online in the scientific journal Current Drug Safety.

Investigators at the University of Sao Paulo, Clinical Hospital reviewed over 130 papers assessing the impact of CBD in humans and animals. Studies describing the effects of multiple cannabinoids or CBD extracts were excluded from the analysis.





Authors reported: "Several studies suggest that CBD is well tolerated and safe in humans at high doses and with chronic use. ... [S]tudies suggest that CBD is non-toxic in non-transformed cells and does not induce changes on food intake, does not induce catalepsy [muscular rigidity], does not affect physiological parameters (heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature), does not affect gastrointestinal transit and does not alter psychomotor or psychological functions."

They concluded, "Based on recent advances in cannabinoid administration in humans, controlled CBD may be safe in humans and animals. However, further studies are needed to clarify these reported in vitro and in vivo side effects."

Separate investigations of CBD have documented the cannabinoid to possess a variety of therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-epileptic, anti-cancer, and bone-stimulating properties. In recent years, patients in states that allow for the use of cannabis therapy, particularly California, have expressed an interest in plant strains that contain uniquely high percentages of the compound.

Cannabidiol is presently classified under federal law as a schedule I prohibited substance. Such substances are required by law to possess "a high potential for abuse," "a lack of accepted safety ... under medical supervision," and "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Safety and Side Effects of Cannabidiol, a Cannabis Sativa Constituent," appears in Current Drug Safety.