CBD Eliminated Withdrawal Symptoms in a 19-Year-Old Heavy Cannabis User: A Case Report | Research

The takeaway

A 19-year-old woman with cannabis withdrawal syndrome was treated with CBD for 10 days and showed no significant withdrawal, anxiety, or dissociative symptoms throughout the treatment period.

Read this if you experience withdrawal symptoms when stopping cannabis and are curious about CBD as a potential solution.

No significant withdrawal symptoms during 10 days of CBD treatment

What the researchers found

A 19-year-old heavy cannabis user experiencing withdrawal syndrome (increased anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite, irritability, restlessness) was treated with cannabidiol (CBD) for 10 days. Daily symptom assessments showed the absence of significant withdrawal symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and dissociative symptoms throughout the treatment.

The rationale for CBD was that cannabis withdrawal results from desensitization of CB1 receptors by THC. CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system differently from THC and does not produce psychoactive effects, making it a logical candidate for managing the transition off cannabis.

Why it matters

Cannabis withdrawal can be severe enough to prevent successful quitting. There are no approved medications for cannabis withdrawal. This case report suggests CBD, a non-psychoactive component of cannabis itself, could manage withdrawal symptoms, providing a basis for larger clinical trials.

The numbers in context

1 patient, 19 years old, female. CBD treatment for 10 days. Absence of significant withdrawal, anxiety, and dissociative symptoms throughout.

How the study worked

Single case report of a 19-year-old woman with cannabis withdrawal syndrome. CBD administered for 10 days with daily symptom assessments for withdrawal, anxiety, and dissociative symptoms.

What this study cannot tell us

This is a single case report with no control condition. Withdrawal symptoms may have resolved naturally. No dose information was provided in the abstract. The case cannot establish whether CBD directly prevented withdrawal or whether other factors contributed. Case reports are the lowest level of clinical evidence.

How to read the evidence

Single case report; the lowest level of clinical evidence but provides a hypothesis for testing.

When this study was published

Published in 2013. Subsequent studies have begun testing CBD for cannabis use disorder in controlled settings.

The bigger picture

Using a non-psychoactive component of cannabis to treat cannabis withdrawal is an elegant therapeutic concept. If confirmed in larger studies, CBD could become the first evidence-based pharmacotherapy specifically for cannabis withdrawal syndrome.

Questions still open

What CBD dose is optimal for cannabis withdrawal? Would these results replicate in a controlled trial? How does CBD compare to other medications tested for cannabis withdrawal? Is 10 days sufficient, or would longer treatment be needed?

Common questions

Can CBD help with cannabis withdrawal?

This case report showed promising results in one patient, but a single case cannot prove effectiveness. However, the biological rationale is sound: CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system without producing the psychoactive effects of THC. Larger controlled studies are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

Why would a cannabis compound help with cannabis withdrawal?

CBD and THC are very different molecules. THC causes the high and, with chronic use, leads to receptor desensitization that produces withdrawal when stopped. CBD does not cause a high but may help stabilize the endocannabinoid system during the transition off THC, reducing withdrawal severity.

Read the original research

Cannabidiol for the treatment of cannabis withdrawal syndrome: a case report.

Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics, 38(2), 162-4

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Crippa, J A S; Hallak, J E C; Machado-de-Sousa, J P; Queiroz, R H C; Bergamaschi, M; Chagas, M H N; Zuardi, A W. (2013). Cannabidiol for the treatment of cannabis withdrawal syndrome: a case report.. Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics, 38(2), 162-4. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpt.12018