María S. García-Gutiérrez, Francisco Navarrete, Adrián Viudez-Martínez, Ani Gasparyan, Esther Caparrós, Jorge Manzanares
Chapter, In book : “Cannabis Use Disorders“, 2018, pp 31-42
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-90365-1_5
Abstract
Cannabis use disorders (CUD) represent a serious public health problem in occidental societies. Despite their devastating social, health, and economic impact, to date no pharmacological treatment has been approved for the clinical management of cannabis dependence.
Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the main compounds—together with Δ9-THC—present in the plant Cannabis sativa, has been reported to possess anxiolytic, antidepressant, and antipsychotic-like effects and neuroprotective properties. And, contrary to Δ9-THC, CBD does not appear to have addictive properties. Taken together, these results point to CBD as a promising candidate for the treatment of psychiatric and drug use disorders, including CUD.
In this respect, recent animal and human studies, carried out by our group and others, have provided the first evidence supporting the potential therapeutic use of CBD in the treatment of cannabis dependence. The administration of CBD reduced the behavioral disturbances associated with the CP-55,940-induced spontaneous cannabinoid withdrawal in mice. Despite controversial results obtained in humans, CBD showed a rapid decrease in withdrawal symptoms in patients with CUD.
Taken together, these preliminary results represent a starting point for further preclinical and large-scale clinical trials.