News Nuggets (The World)

CBD may ease symptoms of schizophrenia

Cannabidiol, a chemical compound in marijuana commonly known as CBD, may be effective in easing psychotic symptoms in schizophrenics, a study conducted in Germany and the U.S. suggests.

A team of scientists in both countries conducted the double-blind clinical trial over a four-week period, administering CBD to a group of acute-schizophrenia patients and the powerful antipsychotic agent amisulpride to another. Both groups showed improvement in their conditions, but the CBD group performed better. The results of the trial will be published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

Earlier studies suggest CBD is both safe and effective in treating a variety of medical conditions, including nausea, anxiety and cancer-cell growth. This latest study is particularly noteworthy, given the longstanding insistence by marijuana prohibitionists that cannabis use can cause schizophrenia.