How are patients substituting traditional painkillers for cannabidiol (CBD) to manage their diseases? This is what a recent study published in Frontiers in Public Health and was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated the likelihood of patients switching to CBD from traditional medicines. This study has the potential to help researchers, medical professionals, legislators, and the public better understand the benefits of CBD for health management and the steps that can be taken to enhance them.
For the study, the researchers conducted an online-based survey between October and November 2023 of 1,523 adults (1,008 CBD users and 515 never users) to ascertain their CBD use, and specifically how they use CBD. The researchers notes that the motivation behind this study was due to growing trends of patients using CBD for health management.
In the end, the researchers found that approximately 35 percent of US adults reported using CBD and just over 21 percent reported CBD use within the last year. Of this group, they reported approximately 32 percent reported using CBD as a substitute or adjunct for traditional medicines while adjunct users were reported higher than a substitute. The researchers also found that pain management was the most common type of use for CBD.
The study notes in their conclusions, “These findings highlight that millions of US adults use CBD as a substitute and adjunct for a wide range of health conditions—most of which lack FDA-approved indications or clear evidence-based guidance. While available clinical evidence generally suggests CBD is well tolerated, stronger evidence on efficacy, dosing, modes of consumption, product quality, and clinically meaningful interaction management is still needed so that widespread real-world use is better supported by clear guidance and translates into safer, more effective care.”
What new insight into CBD replacing traditional medicines will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Frontiers in Public Health, Marijuana Moment
