So there’s abundant evidence that CBD has analgesic effects: from both animal studies
with rats and mice and also from medical cannabis users.
CBD binds to, and activates, our endogenous opioid receptors, and this fact both
explains and somehow ‘justifies’ the assertion of analgesic action of cannabis.
The opioid receptors activated by CBD, are also activated heroin, morphine and the
vast family of other opioids. So why isn’t CBD addictive ?
If anyone has come across explanations for CBD’s apparent non-addicting nature,
please post them here. I’m very interested in this question.
The implications and corollaries are huge. For example:
– perhaps CBD can help opioid addicts transition from the poppy to the weed.
(how much suffering, crime, betrayal and personal degradation would that end?)
– the mechanism underlying alcoholism, coincidentally, is the triggering of endogenous
opioid receptors (in response to the chemical assault of excessive alcohol). It’s already
known that agents, such as naltrexone, that blind to, but do not trigger, the opioid
receptor, take the pleasure out of drinking, for an alcoholic. Perhaps it would be
better to offer alcoholics the choice of transitioning to CBD oil… since CBD has
neuroprotective, neurorestorative, anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects, it has
a better side-effect profile than naltrexone.
– CBD might become, in time, a replacement for aspirin and paracetamol.
given that aspirin causes stomach bleeding and paracetamol, taken to excess
will kill you via liver damage… maybe using CBD to replace aspirin and
paracetamol is a great idea.
But i digress… Back to the main point of this thread:
Has any body come across explanations for CBD’s non-addicting nature ?
I came across this article reading about CBD online. I grow high CBD Lebanese landrace strains here. Anyway, they say that CBD blocks the opioid response mechanism, and thus it has opposite resulting effects (is non-addictive itself, and may help with other addictions).
I haven’t researched this, but just because a chemical binds to a receptor doesn’t mean it will have the same effect as another. I’m not sure how many opioid receptors are there I think there are a lot of different ones, so effects can be variable when a chemical binds to certain receptors and not others.
Interesting topic, My feeling is that more psychedelic drugs such as; psicilicibin, MDMA and LSD will prove to be more effective for treatment of psychological conditions, although I’m not even sure if drug addiction is a psychological or physical ailment. Opiod replacement treatments in general aren’t really that great for the patients (substituting one for another) so CBD looks hopeful, as far as side effects and functionality are concerned.
One reason it’s not addictive is the amount of time it stays in the system. Opiods are purged within days while it seems the body want to hold on to cannabinoids.
I read a study that suggested if cannabis left the body as fast as other drugs it would be highly addictive. More so than heroin. The study was done with mice and some kind of cannabinoids inhibitor. But since our bodies keep cannabinoids for long periods its like weening off of it instead of a purge. The study was done quite a while ago and who knows if the science was sound, but it’s interesting none the less.
If they would only remove Cannabis from being a Schedule 1 narcotic we could study it in detail for medical (and other) purposes here in the US. But until that happens, we will have to rely on studies done in Israel, Colombia, and now in Mexico and maybe Canada after national legalization there.
canadian universities have been studying cannabis for a while already, UBC chemo is rumoured to have been created at the university in the 70s to treat chemo related nausea. i do not agree that cannabis is viable opioid replacement, it does very little to ease withdrawals (if/when it doesnt make it worse)
I think perhaps there’s a big difference in the medical effects of
CBD-rich strains, and THC-rich strains. I think most people have
experience of cannabis as THC-rich strains. The CBD-rich strains
are those which bind to the opioid receptor and have the greatest
analgesic effect.
Perhaps there’s a big opportunity here for Big Med
and Big Pharma to do some good in the world.
First, we know that morphine/heroin triggers
both the analgesic and addiction properties of the
opioid receptor… and it STRONGLY triggers both properties.
Second, CBD triggers the analgesic properties, but not
the addictive properties of the receptor. The analgesia offered
by CBD is mild or weak compared to opioids.
So… why can’t Big Med / Big Pharma figure out a variant
of CBD that STRONGLY triggers the analgesic property
(obviously, without triggering the addictive property)
or,… figure out a variant of morphine, that doesn’t activate
the addiction property?
yes i’m a medical patient and most of my orders from the shitty LPs were to try out high CBD strains and also high thc strains. never went for a balanced strain. just mixed em myself. i would also debate if CBD provides any analgesic affect. more anti inflammatory. THC works better for pain management imo.
last i heard they were looking in to a certain snake venom (edit: its peptides in the black mamba venom called mambalgins) which was showing lots of promise for analgesic with practically none of the side affects (nausea, addiction, cns depression etc).
The reason morphine is addictive is because the introduction of morphine into one’s system inhibits one’s own endorphin system from producing endorphins (morphine). Thus, we become addicted.
So, i wonder if it would be possible to produce an opioid
that didn’t suppress our endogenous endorphin production.
Can you remember where you learned of this endorphin suppression mechanism of
opioids. It sounds very interesting. I’d like to read about it.
Thanks for your help
fun fact. david sassoon, who controlled the opium monopoly in britain/china, was jewish and only employed jewish persons in his opium dens in china, which were forced on the chinese people by britain in multiple wars. they would not allow it to be sold in britain btw. his son abdullah sassoon changed his name to albert and married in to the rothschilds.
The way the British behaved in attempting to ‘hook’ the Chinese on opium
is just the worst bullshit… An embarrassment to the British people.
Similarly, the way the US (and allies) invaded Afghanistan, when opium
production had been virtually eradicated by the Taliban, … and then after
the invasion, guess what, opium production reached historic levels
in less than 10 years. Just complete bullshit. The opium trade was
deliberately re-opened by USA. There’s no way the opium trade could
function in Afghanistan without the permission of the USA.
