Study Suggests that CBD Could One Day be Used as an Antibiotic

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]e all know that cannabidiol (CBD) has many medical purposes, but apparently, it could even be the basis of a brand new antibiotic. A recent study suggests that CBD’s properties could be useful as an antibiotic in the future.

According to Newsweek, scientists in Australia discovered that CBD, the non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, can kill strains of bacteria, including some that are currently very resistant to other antibiotics. Additionally, the bacteria treated by CBD did not become resistant to the antibiotic after 20 days, which is the normal amount of time that it takes for bacteria to resist antibiotics.

The team that studied the new antibiotic tested it on staphylococcus aureus, which causes conditions including the hospital bug MRSA and streptococcus pneumonia, which can lead to pneumonia. They also discovered it was helpful in treating skin infections in mice. “So far, we have only shown it works topically, on the skin surface,” study leader Mark Blaskovich, senior research chemist at the Centre for Superbug Solutions, said. “To be really useful, it would be good if we could show that it treated systemic infections e.g. pneumonia, or complicated tissue infections, where you have to give it orally or by intravenous dosing. A very preliminary study didn’t show that it works in these more difficult models.”

While all of this is extremely promising, it was still difficult to conduct the research because of current restrictions in place. “The most challenging part [of the study] was getting the correct permits to handle cannabidiol in our laboratories, as the Queensland government regulates who can use/handle it. Even though the material we are using is completely synthetic, it falls into this grey area under the definitions of cannabinoids,” he explained.

2019 is undoubtedly the year of CBD. With Martha Stewart starting her own line of CBD products, and Kroger stores will soon be selling hemp-derived CBD products, the awareness is riding rapidly.