CBD ‘not effective’ for cocaine addiction – but there’s still potential for other cannabinoids

CBD may not be an effective way to reduce cocaine dependence, but researcher’s have not ruled out the potential of cannabis-based medicines.

There are over 19 million cocaine users globally, according to recent estimates.

In North America alone, close to 5.5 million people use the drug regularly, and nearly one in five become addicted.

This is referred to by the scientific community as cocaine use disorder (CUD), for which there is no clinical treatment. But one solution which has been touted, is treatment with cannabidiol.

Without the psychoactive effects of its sister compound, THC, the cannabis extract is used for managing an array of conditions, from anxiety and sleep issues to chronic pain.

There is speculation that stimulating the body’s endocannabinoid system with CBD may suppress addictive urges, but when it comes to cocaine addiction, the research is mixed.

Some rat models have shown that CBD could decrease reliance on cocaine, whereas other show it has little to no effect.

This month a Canadian scientific team at The Univeristé de Montréal-affiliated CHUM Research Centre (CRCHUM) have published findings from one of the first human studies, which contradicts claims that CBD can help treat cocaine addiction.

According to the scientists, lead by psychiatry professor Didier Jutras-Aswad, CBD doesn’t make addicts want cocaine less or reduce their risk of relapse into addiction.

In a randomised controlled clinical trial, Jutras-Aswad and his team recruited 78 participants, most of them with severe cocaine use disorder. The cohort was randomly divided into two groups: one receiving CBD (800 mg per day), the other a placebo. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew which treatment was administered.

Following 10 days in hospital to detox, the participants were sent home and for the next three months received weekly check-ups to assess their cocaine use and whether they had relapsed.

“In our study, the use of CBD was not more effective than a placebo in treating cocaine use disorder,” Violaine Mongeau-Pérusse, first author of the study and a PhD student in the Jutras-Aswad’s lab, told Cannabis Health.

“Although it is safe and produces only mild side effects, CBD reduces neither the craving to use cocaine nor the risk of a user’s relapse after detoxification.

“CBD is a really fascinating [compound] that can help people with many conditions, but in our study, 800 mg of CBD was not helpful.

“I think we have to continue the research to find out which conditions it is working for and which it isn’t.”

Despite calling the result conclusive, Mongeau-Pérusse doesn’t rule out the potential use of cannabis for treating drug addiction.

“I think cannabinoids can be really helpful, we just have to explore,” she said.

“We have to continue research on other conditions or perhaps still look at cocaine use disorder but with higher doses.

“There is research out there about cannabis and cocaine. We wrote an article a couple years ago and saw that people who were consuming cannabis used less cocaine, so maybe another treatment could be THC and CBD. The door is open now to find that out.”

The Univeristé de Montréal researchers hope their study will help orient medical guidelines on the therapeutic use of CBD, which has seen growing popularity across the globe.

Mongeau-Pérusse says she and her team are currently embarking on a new project to assess the efficacy of CBD in the recreational market.