People with Epilepsy Using Artisanal CBD Reported Better Quality of Life | Research

The takeaway

Among 280 epilepsy patients using artisanal CBD products compared to 138 non-users, CBD users reported better quality of life, lower psychiatric symptoms, better sleep, fewer prescription medications, and fewer healthcare visits.

Epileptologists, CBD product consumers, healthcare access researchers

Artisanal CBD users reported better quality of life and used fewer prescription medications than non-users

What the researchers found

Artisanal CBD users showed significantly better quality of life, lower psychiatric symptom severity, improved sleep, better medication tolerability, fewer prescription medications, and reduced healthcare utilization compared to controls, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally when participants initiated CBD use.

Why it matters

Many epilepsy patients cannot access or afford pharmaceutical CBD (Epidiolex) and turn to artisanal products instead. This study provides the most detailed evaluation of health outcomes in this underserved population.

The numbers in context

280 artisanal CBD users; 138 controls; 190 with longitudinal follow-up; CBD users reported higher QoL, lower psychiatric symptoms, better sleep; no group difference in seizure control; CBD users used fewer prescription medications and had less healthcare utilization.

How the study worked

Cross-sectional and longitudinal observational study of 280 artisanal CBD users and 138 controls with epilepsy, completing web-based assessments with a subset (n=190) providing longitudinal follow-up data.

What this study cannot tell us

Self-selected participants likely to have positive views of CBD; self-reported outcomes without clinical verification; no seizure difference observed (possibly due to high baseline seizure control in both groups); artisanal product quality and content unverified.

How to read the evidence

Observational study with longitudinal component, limited by self-selection and unverified artisanal product quality.

When this study was published

Participants recruited through the Realm of Caring Foundation.

The bigger picture

The finding that artisanal CBD users reported better outcomes across multiple domains beyond seizures suggests that CBD may offer broader quality-of-life benefits, though the observational design and self-selection bias require careful interpretation.

Questions still open

How much of the quality-of-life improvement is due to CBD itself versus the perceived control of self-managing treatment? Would controlled trials of artisanal CBD products confirm these benefits?

Common questions

Do over-the-counter CBD products help epilepsy?

In this study, artisanal CBD users reported better quality of life, sleep, and mood compared to non-users, though seizure control was similar between groups. However, artisanal products are unregulated and their content is not guaranteed.

Why didn't CBD reduce seizures in this study?

Both CBD users and controls had high rates of seizure-free months, which may have limited the ability to detect differences. The study focused more on quality-of-life outcomes than seizure frequency.

Read the original research

Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of cannabidiol (CBD) product use and health among people with epilepsy.

Epilepsy & behavior : E&B, 122, 108205

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Strickland, Justin C; Jackson, Heather; Schlienz, Nicolas J; Salpekar, Jay A; Martin, Erin L; Munson, Joel; Bonn-Miller, Marcel O; Vandrey, Ryan. (2021). Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of cannabidiol (CBD) product use and health among people with epilepsy.. Epilepsy & behavior : E&B, 122, 108205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108205