Recent research into cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, shows promising signs for the treatment of several psychiatric conditions, according to a critical review of existing studies. The review focused on clinical studies published before July 27, 2023, scrutinizing the effects of CBD on conditions such as schizophrenia, substance use disorders (SUDs), anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and autism spectrum disorders.
The review, which encompassed 150 articles with 54 publications making the final cut, indicates that CBD has diverse effects and maintains an excellent safety profile compared to traditional psychiatric medications. This body of work provides growing evidence of CBD’s potential benefits in psychiatry, albeit the researchers acknowledge that the evidence from randomized clinical trials remains relatively sparse for most conditions.
No significant clinical studies have yet been published on CBD’s effects on other potential psychiatric applications, including alcohol use disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, dementia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Despite these gaps, the review highlights the potential of CBD to ameliorate conditions like schizophrenia, SUDs, and PTSD, while calling for more controlled studies to fully establish its efficacy and safety, particularly regarding its mid- to long-term use.
The complexity of CBD’s interactions with the endocannabinoid system, which plays a critical role in neural activity patterns, suggests vast untapped potential, underscoring the need for further research to unlock its full therapeutic possibilities in psychiatric care.