New Zealand CBD Oil Study Finds More Uses for Medical Cannabis
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] new study out of New Zealand has found that CBD can be used to help treat chronic pain and mental health symptoms.
University of Auckland researchers and Dr. Graham Gulbransen, who opened the first medical cannabis clinic in New Zealand, looked at the first 400 patients that were prescribed CBD and found improvements of quality of life and decreased pain and anxiety after using CBD. The 400 patients were asked to self-report their pain, anxiety, debility, and depression before taking CBD, and then again four weeks after.
“Our findings show that CBD is well-tolerated in most patients and can markedly ease symptoms in a range of hard-to-treat conditions and that there are people keen to access this and self-fund the medication (about $300 per month),” said Professor Bruce Arroll, senior author of the study.
Because the study consisted of patients who self-reported, the study authors warn they can’t say whether the placebo effect was factored in. Only 250 of the 400 patients rated their results, with 70 percent of them reporting good results from using CBD. Ten percent of participants reported adverse side effects when using CBD, including sedation and vivid dreams. Two people even reported CBD made their condition worse. While the study has its limitations, the findings showed there needs to be more research to show how beneficial medical cannabis can be.
“Our findings show that CBD is well-tolerated in most patients and can markedly ease symptoms in a range of hard-to-treat conditions, and that there are people keen to access this and self-fund the medication (about $300 per month),” said Dr. Arroll, lead author of the study.
New Zealand voters will have a chance to legalize recreational cannabis during the general election this year in a world-leading double referendum. The country also plans to launch its medical cannabis program in April, which will allow for all general practitioners to prescribe cannabis without oversight from a specialist.
