Study: CBD «would not» cure cocaine addiction

He was a «promising complementary therapy». But a Quebec study, published a few days ago, shows the opposite. Conducted at the University of Montreal Hospital Center, it concludes that CBD is not «no more effective than a placebo» to treat cocaine addiction.

Even though there is currently no «no effective pharmacological treatment» To combat withdrawal, it would be largely ineffective to try to treat cocaine addicts with CBD. «Although it is safe and causes only mild side effects, it did not reduce the urge to use or the risk of relapse after detoxification.», notes Violaine Mongeau-Pérusse, one of the study’s authors, quoted in the University of Montreal's newspaper.

To reach this conclusion, researchers in Montreal assembled a group of 78 people—64 men and 14 women. With an average age of 46, these patients «a severe cocaine use disorder for the majority.». They were then divided into two groups. One group received a placebo. The other received 800 milligrams of CBD oil per day, which is slightly less than one entire 10-mL vial of 10%.

After ten days of detoxification at the hospital, the 78 people were able to return home. They were then monitored for three months. At the end of this period, the findings show that  «During the detoxification phase, cocaine craving scores were higher among patients who received CBD than among those who received the placebo. All but three patients relapsed during the 12-week study, with a similar risk among CBD patients as among placebo patients.»

Conflicting studies

Other studies, on the contrary, showed that the different ways to consume CBD could be a solution. In 2019, a Spanish study noted precisely that «These controversies suggest that the effectiveness of CBD may depend on several factors, such as dosage or the timing of administration.».

Taking their analysis a step further, the Spanish researchers had identified some benefits of CBD. «It plays a key role in attenuating drug-related memory, without, however, altering the «reward» effect of cocaine. Evidence of CBD’s role in regulating emotional memory is further supported by its ability to reduce the stress associated with cocaine-seeking behavior.»

Researchers at the University of Montreal, for their part, note the need to continue scientific research: «Further studies will be needed to continue determining the conditions under which CBD may or may not be helpful.»