Monday, 11 March 2019

New research suggests THC may be medically better than CBD

 
 
Until now, most of the research had pointed to two facts- cannabidiol (CBD) is the cannabinoid with all the medicinal benefits; whilst tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the one that gives you high.

However, new research conducted at the University of New Mexico has shed some light on the medicinal effects of THC, which are way superior to those offered by its antipsychotic counterpart.

The Study
Sarah See Stith, assistant professor in the Department of Economics, and Jacob Miguel Vigil, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, at the University of New Mexico have analyzed and collected data on 3,300 medical marijuana patients who use the Relief app to track how effectively various cannabis products like edibles, tinctures and flowers ease their symptoms.

Via the Relief app, patients recorded a number of aspects like the severity of their symptoms, the medicines they are consuming, the ratio of CBD and THC, and the extent and speed of relief (if any) from as many as 27 categories of symptoms, including chronic pain, anxiety, depression, seizures, etc.

The Findings
The app recorded nearly 20,000 sessions from patients and deduced that the average symptom improvements stood at a score of 3.5 on a scale of 10. However, what was startling was the fact that the quantity of CBD present – no matter how much or how little – in the respective medicines of the patients had no co-relation with symptom relief; in fact, whatever relief they experienced was because of the higher THC levels.

The inferences may also suggest that either CBD has long-term or subtle effects, in comparison with the THC that brought about immediate symptom ease or in order to be medically beneficial, the THC requires some threshold amount of its antipsychotic partner.

The researchers also established that the dried flower, the least-expensive product available, was the most effective of all the cannabis products in relieving the symptoms.

Notably, CBD drove as high as $600 million in sales the previous year and is expected to rake in $20 billion by 2022, owing to its diverse uses in medicine, cosmetic, and food & beverage industry.

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