New study to test effectiveness of CBD products

The largest study of its kind will measure the effectiveness of CBD products for wellbeing, quality of life, pain, sleep disturbance, and anxiety.

Health tech company Radicle Science has announced the launch of its Radicle ACES (Advancing CBD Education & Science) study, the first multi-brand, Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved study on CBD effectiveness.

This first of its kind randomised controlled trial (RCT) will collect health outcome data on 13 CBD brands across nearly 3,000 participants throughout the US, over a period of four weeks.

A diverse group of participants across a variety of ethnicities, age groups, geographies, behavioural habits and pre-existing health conditions, will complete a series of virtual surveys over the four week period.

According to the company, its findings will address the two main barriers to CBD usage identified in a 2019 Nielsen study, the difficulty gauging effectiveness of specific products, and the lack of research data on health benefits.

Participants will be randomised to receive one of the 13 brands at the start of the study or be assigned to the control arm and will use validated health assessments to track their well-being, quality of life, pain, sleep disturbance, and anxiety.

Radicle will also send a random sample of each CBD product to an accredited third-party testing lab for analysis of active ingredients such as cannabinoids and terpenes, as well as a variety of contaminants including pesticides, residual solvents, heavy metals, mycotoxins, pathogens, and foreign materials.

Pelin Thorogood, co-founder and executive chair of Radicle Science, commented: “A rigorous scientific study of this magnitude has never before been conducted in the CBD market.

“Radicle ACES is driven by our deep commitment to contribute to the body of evidence to support growing demand from consumers and healthcare providers. 

“Given the scale, the diversity of the participant population and the wide range of high-quality commercial brands included, Radicle ACES promises to deliver rich, objective health outcome data for a variety of common health conditions, with the potential to offer unprecedented guidance on CBD effectiveness based on demographic or behavioural differences.”