Cannabidiol has been shown to have beneficial effects for the treatment of schizophrenia in a study conducted by a wide variety of organizations. This is promising for sufferers of the condition and good news for cannabis, which has received a lot of negative press and coverage regarding THC and its possible effects on schizophrenia.
The study is: “Cannabidiol (CBD) as an Adjunctive Therapy in Schizophrenia: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.”
The various organizations involved with the findings are:
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
- Department of Psychiatry, “Dr. Carol Davila” Central Military Emergency University Hospital, Bucharest, Romania
- GW Pharmaceuticals and the Cannabinoid Research Institute, Research and Development, Cambridge, U.K.
The study, an “8-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial was conducted at 15 hospital sites in the U.K., Romania, and Poland” where patients were either given 1,000 mg/day of CBD orally in two doses, or a placebo.
The results were clear that CBD was effective in the “Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale” or PANSS score:
CBD Shows Positive PANSS Results
The changes over the course of the treatment also clearly showed improvements for those taking CBD over a placebo in their Clinical Global Impressions severity scores:
CBD Better than Placebo in Clinical Global Impressions Severity Scores at End of Treatment
There have been a number of studies on cannabis and schizophrenia over the years, with much attention paid to the possibly exacerbating effects of THC on the condition. This study doesn’t provide guidance to start using cannabis as treatment for schizophrenia, but it does show promise for CBD as a treatment.
“This is, to our knowledge, the first placebo-controlled trial of CBD in schizophrenia. The data indicate that 6 weeks of treatment adjunctive to antipsychotic medication was associated with significant effects both on positive psychotic symptoms and on the treating clinicians’ impressions of improvement and illness severity. There were also improvements in cognitive performance and in the level of overall functioning, although these fell short of statistical significance.”
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