Why CBD?

Why CBD? Why are people using CBD? What can CBD help? What kind of effects will I feel from CBD? What can CBD treat? Why take CBD at all?

There are many people sharing stories of the benefits they’ve seen from CBD. I have personally seen improvements in my sleep quality, stress levels, anxiety, attention span, and pain. Several of my friends and family have seen improvements in one or all of these areas. I have had patients tell me that they’ve been able to decrease their use of opioid pain medications, sleeping pills, and anti-anxiety medications after starting CBD. These are examples of anecdotal evidence. They sound fantastic, but they are actually the lowest level of evidence in the hierarchy of evidence.

The hierarchy of evidence is a system that allows you to rank how important evidence is with respect to how biased it may be. The hierarchy of evidence generally looks like the following list, going from lowest level of evidence to highest:

• anecdotal reports, case reports, and opinions of experts and respected authorities
• animal trials and in-vitro studies
• cross sectional studies
• case-control studies
• cohort studies
• randomized control trials (RCT’s)
• meta-analyses and systemic reviews

Until more advanced research has been conducted, there is no way to say that the improvements people see and feel using CBD is due to the efficacy of the CBD or if bias and placebo play a factor. Look for posts about new studies as I find them. They will be searchable by searchable by keywords, including by specific conditions.

For now, I’ll post a chart that was in the World Health Organization’s CBD pre-review report:

This WHO created this chart using information from:

Pisanti, S., et al., Cannabidiol: State of the art and new challenges for therapeutic applications. Pharmacol Ther, 2017. 175: p. 133-150.

CBD has been studied for its potential to aid in a wide variety of conditions. There are studies and anecdotal reports of CBD being used for acne, ADHD, addiction, AIDS, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, anorexia, anxiety, atherosclerosis, arthritis, asthma, autism, bipolar disorder, cerebrovascular accidents (CVA or stroke), cancer, digestive issues, depression, diabetes, endocrine disorders, epilepsy/seizures, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, heart disease, Huntington’s disease, infection, inflammation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), kidney disease, liver disease, metabolic syndromes, migraines, mood disorders, motion sickness, multiple sclerosis (MS), nausea, neurodegenerative disease, neuropathic pain, obesity, OCD, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s disease, prion disease (Mad Cow), PTSD, rheumatism, schizophrenia, sickle cell anemia, skin conditions, sleep disorders, spinal cord injuries, stress, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and more. CBD is not FDA approved to treat any specific condition. Do not trust any site that claims their products are designed to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease or affliction. 

 

Back: How to Use CBD     Next: FAQ