The Side Effects of CBD
A recent critical review of CBD by the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that CBD was a very promising treatment for numerous medical conditions. The findings noted that CBD tends to be well-tolerated, with a good safety profile and does not appear to be at risk of dependence, abuse or any other health issues.
The WHO isn’t alone, thousands of scientific research articles that reference CBD use state that it is safe to use with no severe side effects. However, the widespread use of CBD oil across people of all ages, and regions of the world is a new phenomenon. That said, because your safety should always be a priority we’ve put together some of the scientific evidence that points to there being a couple of adverse effects associated with CBD oil and related products.
Adverse Effects Brought on by High Doses of CBD
Let’s start with the apparent potential offender. Most people assume that for instance if two drops are helping them improve pain management by 20% each week, then increasing the dose to ten drops should enhance their recovery by 100%. However, because there is a lack of clinical evidence in this regard favouring CBD oil or against it, we have to look at an FDA approved CBD drug called Epidiolex. The drug is used to treat childhood epilepsy.
Clinical trials of Epidiolex on children between the ages of 2 and 18, prescribed high doses of regular CBD administration for up to 14 weeks will be referenced in this section. Daily doses administered are equivalent to 1,360 mg per 150-pound adult. For reference, this is around the entire standard bottle of CBD oil.
The adverse effects noted during these clinical trials were:
- Chronic tiredness
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Lower appetite
- Alteration of liver enzymes
The side effects became apparent during the first week as the doses were being ramped up. However, the symptoms were shown to subside once the dosage stabilized. Lowering doses was also shown to be an effective way to help decrease instances of side effects. So, anyone who is experiencing adverse effects with the use of CBD oil might want to wait it out for up to a week, try lowering their doses, switch to a better or different product.
Side Effects Brought on by Low Quality CBD Products
It is essential to highlight the fact that during clinical trials, patients are administered high-quality CBD oil. The side effects mentioned above of using high doses stems from the use of an exceptionally pure product. Unfortunately, for CBD oil users, the US supplement industry isn’t as heavily regulated, so you could end up purchasing CBD from a potentially unsafe or dishonest brand. So, the side effects you experience may differ from the clinical study cited above. In fact, when a group of scientists decided to test a variety of CBD products, they discovered that only 31% of these products were correctly labelled.
Unreliable products can often contain impurities like:
- Toxins rooted in bad farming practices
- The use of synthetic cannabinoids
- Unusually high levels of THC
- Contaminants like rancidity, mold, bacteria etc.
Sometimes CBD products will not have CBD at all, so you’ll not experience any negative or positive effects for that matter.
People on Prescription Drugs Need to be Very Careful
People who are on prescription drugs should note that everyone processes these drugs in different ways. Some may experience fewer effects post-processing in the body, while others aren’t effective until they are processed. CBD is a lot like grapefruits in the sense that they occupy enzymes, in particular cytochrome p450, the same enzyme that the body uses to process a particular set of pharmaceutical drugs.
Consuming CBD products in light of pharmaceutical drugs could pose a health risk by either decreasing or increasing the levels of the medication in the bloodstream. If you are on prescription medication that has a warning label stating not to be consumed with grapefruit, like Warfarin, Chemotherapy, etc., you should consult a medical professional before using CBD products.
People on Prescription Drugs Need to be Very Careful
People who are on prescription drugs should note that everyone processes these drugs in different ways. Some may experience fewer effects post-processing in the body, while others aren’t effective until they are processed. CBD is a lot like grapefruits in the sense that they occupy enzymes, in particular cytochrome p450, the same enzyme that the body uses to process a particular set of pharmaceutical drugs.
Consuming CBD products in light of pharmaceutical drugs could pose a health risk by either decreasing or increasing the levels of the medication in the bloodstream. If you are on prescription medication that has a warning label stating not to be consumed with grapefruit, like Warfarin, Chemotherapy, etc., you should consult a medical professional before using CBD products.
People with Liver Complications
Now even though this warning may be speculative, but people who have liver issues should be cautious about their use of CBD products. We mentioned the raised levels of liver enzymes when high doses of CBD products were being ingested [earlier in the article]. However, even then it isn’t clear if the use of CBD has a direct relation to liver damage.
People with liver issues who decide to use CBD oil should monitor their liver enzymes. Also, people who suffer from liver impairments can increase their doses slowly.
Effects on People with Low Blood Pressure
Limited studies show that CBD oil and products tend to lower blood pressure which is a concern for people who already have low blood pressure. CBD oil is shown to reduce blood pressure which would otherwise be elevated during stressful periods of life, which is seen as one of the product’s benefits. However, there is a risk that it may also decrease resting blood pressure.
Anyone who suffers from hypotension should monitor their blood pressure during the ongoing use of CBD products or when increasing doses.
Conclusion
Today, people who use or have used CBD products love the way it makes them feel. The number of enthusiasts grows each day, mainly because CBD oil and related products have done so much good for them. Many people report effectively cutting down the use of pharmaceuticals with aggressive adverse effects by switching to CBD products.
Our advice is not to substitute any of your current medication or prescribed treatments with the use of CBD products prior to approval from a doctor. CBD is meant to offer patients extra support, not replace the support they already have. We understand that some conditions can be hard to manage, but CBD oil is still widely clinically unknown. So, far the results of CBD use are predominantly positive, and the adverse effects aren’t apparent until doses are ramped up to inadequate levels. Those who use CBD oil should ensure that they continue to use safe doses of it produced by reputed brands.