Researchers have published a new study plan to test whether hemp-derived CBD might offer an offramp for people with marijuana use disorder, potentially enabling them to reduce their consumption of THC.

The protocol, funded by a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and published in the journal PLoS ONE, lays out a procedure for a double-blind randomized trial involving “heavy, stable cannabis concentrate users that meet criteria for at least moderate cannabis use disorder and are seeking to decrease or stop cannabis use.”

Authors of the protocol, from the University of Colorado in Boulder and Denver, note that unlike THC, CBD “has no intoxicating effects, and little abuse liability among cannabis users.” They also point out that past research indicated CBD could reduce heroin-seeking behavior, cravings and anxiety in people with opioid dependence.

“Given the combined evidence of this prior work,” the paper says, “CBD combined with low dose THC might reduce withdrawal symptoms in abstaining cannabis users and this mechanism of action may drive the therapeutic effects of hemp-derived CBD on reducing cannabis use.”

Current research, authors point out, “is limited to synthetic or isolated forms of CBD that are not widely available.”

By contrast there

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