A new study has found that while CBD is ‘remarkably safe’ and well-tolerated even at higher doses, therapeutic benefits of CBD were only seen at doses of 300mg and above.
This follows the results of another recent study that found that doses between 10-30mg of CBD did not counteract the negative effects of THC, as has been suggested by previous studies.
So this begs the question, are low doses of CBD (which are the standard) completely pointless?
New studies
Most recently, a scientific review of available research set out to determine the potential risks of high oral doses of CBD.
While it was found that large doses (up to 6000mg) of CBD were not associated with any adverse effects, the findings suggest that the therapeutic benefits of CBD only became evident at doses greater than or equal to 300 mg.
The study says: “At doses of 300–400 mg, there is evidence of efficacy with respect to reduced anxiety, as well as anti-addiction effects in drug-dependent individuals.
“More marginal and less consistent therapeutic effects on insomnia, neurological disorders, and chronic pain were also apparent.”
Another recent study found no evidence that doses of up to 30mg of CBD reduce the potential negative effects of THC, like anxiety and paranoia.
Previous research
The same research team that conducted the study above had previously found that taking a high-dose CBD capsule a few hours before using THC-rich cannabis may reduce the adverse effects of THC.
Dutch investigators also recently found that participants who consumed equal amounts of THC and CBD reported experiencing less anxiety than when they consumed THC-dominant cannabis.
There’s these two studies that found that while THC strongly disrupts striato-cortical networks in the brain, the effect is somewhat mitigated by the co-administration of 10mg of CBD in the limbic striatum network.
This study found that low doses of CBD-rich cannabis extract could be effective at managing behavioral problems associated with autism in adolescents.
A clinical trial in Switzerland found a possible link between the use of CBD cigarettes and a reduction in antipsychotic medication use in patients with psychotic disorders.
Other studies have shown the anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-addiction effects of low to medium doses of CBD.
Entourage effect playing a role?
One explanation for why small doses of CBD may be performing poorly in certain studies is because the entourage effect is being discounted.
The entourage effect explains the synergistic effects that we see when multiple cannabis compounds (cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids etc.) are administered at the same time.
You see, cannabinoids like CBD seem to work better when administered as part of a full-spectrum cannabis product. Full-spectrum means that the entire range of cannabinoid compounds are present.
This may help to explain why in some studies the therapeutic effects of CBD are only seen at high doses, but others show efficacy at lower doses.
So are low doses of CBD pointless?
I don’t think that low doses of CBD are pointless. While some conditions may benefit from larger doses, there is still evidence that lower doses can have positive therapeutic effects for many people.
However, the entourage effect should be taken into consideration for best efficacy as cannabis compounds have a unique synergistic effect when taken together as part of a full-spectrum preparation.
There may also be other factors at play, for example the health of the participant and the medical issue that is being treated.
Summary
Overall, it’s clear that many people benefit from lower doses of CBD. Yes, larger doses may be more effective for certain conditions, but to say that low doses of CBD do nothing is wrong.
Many studies have found positive therapeutic effects from lower doses as well as higher doses, so it may be wise to focus on full-spectrum CBD preparations that contain a complete range of cannabis compounds rather than isolated CBD.
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