CBD oil for Addictions – One of the little-known CBD facts that many people aren’t familiar with is that it can help with drug and alcohol addiction. This naturally occurring chemical compound has the ability to not only reduce addiction but control withdrawal symptoms as well.
In this article, we’ll talk about how CBD helps with drug and alcohol addiction. We’ll also discuss a few tips in choosing CBD oil.
How Addiction Develops
To better understand how CBD helps, let’s discuss how addiction develops.
Substances like opioids, opiates, nicotine, cocaine, heroin, alcohol, and even cannabis not only produce analgesic effects but also powerful uplifting and euphoric highs. Depending on the type of substance, it can stimulate or slow down the mind and body.
These drugs trigger the release of huge amounts of feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine. These neurotransmitters then flood the part of the brain responsible for pleasure and reward. The more you use the drug and feel pleasure, the more it reinforces the reward system. Pretty soon, your drug use becomes a “learned behavior.”
Unfortunately, the more you use the drug, the more your cells become less sensitive to it. So, you have to increase your intake just to feel the same effects again. In on time at all, you’ve become dependent and addicted to it.
Withdrawal symptoms also develop when you try to quit using the drug.
Understanding THC and CBD
Some people actually hesitate to try CBD because they fear it can cause addiction. After all, it comes from cannabis, which can be pretty addictive as well.
But here’s the thing.
The cannabis family — which includes both marijuana and hemp — produces over a hundred different types of cannabinoids. The most psychoactive cannabinoid is THC. There are other psychoactive cannabinoids like CBN and delta 8 THC — which are both derivatives of THC — but their psychoactive effects are milder.
CBD, on the other hand, is the major non-psychoactive cannabinoid. This means it won’t get you high since it doesn’t produce any mind-altering effects.
In addition to this, THC and CBD also activate the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in different ways.
The ECS’s main function is to promote and maintain body homeostasis. Any changes in our body’s chemical levels can cause symptoms such as pain, anxiety, depression, etc.
The ECS has two types of cannabinoid receptors — types 1 and 2. Both types are found all over the body, but:
- Type 1 cannabinoid receptor is very abundant in the brain and spinal cord. It plays key roles in physiological functions like mood, fear, pain, emotions, anxiety, appetite, memory, learning, and motor, and sensory functions, among others.
- Type 2 cannabinoid receptor is abundantly found in the immune system. As such, it plays a huge role in modulating our immune response.
Now, both cannabinoids stimulate the ECS. However, THC’s activation of the type 1 cannabinoid receptor also results in the psychoactive high associated with cannabis.
CBD and Addiction
CBD isn’t a cure for addiction. But it has properties that can help reduce the symptoms.
For one, CBD may not directly activate the type 1 cannabinoid receptor as THC does, but it can dock on another part of the receptor. This results in an inverse agonist effect where CBD counteracts the psychoactive and addictive effects of THC.
Two, CBD also activates the serotonin receptors. This receptor plays an integral role in modulating our stress and anxiety levels. It also helps modulate compulsive behaviors — an example of which is the compulsion or extreme craving to seek and use drugs.
Three, CBD also has an effect on the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. Researchers have found that CBD can reduce the reward-facilitating effects of drugs in this brain region.
Four, CBD also helps with some of the symptoms of withdrawal. It helps alleviate anxiety and restlessness. CBD helps calm the mind and ease body aches and muscle pains. It also helps relieve headaches, nausea, and appetite loss caused by withdrawal symptoms. CBD also eases nausea and vomiting as well as improves mood.
Five, through these various beneficial effects, CBD also helps prevent relapse.
What Science Says About CBD and Addiction
We need more research and studies on how CBD can help with addiction. But according to the studies we have, CBD may help with these types of addiction:
- Nicotine — In a study composed of 24 smokers, CBD was able to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked by about 40%. This CBD effect even lasted at follow-up.
- Morphine — In this study, CBD was able to reduce morphine’s reward-facilitating effects through its effects on the serotonin receptor.
- Heroin — CBD reduced heroin’s drug-seeking behavior in this study and may help prevent relapse. The effect lasted up to about two weeks after CBD was administered.
- Cannabis — CBD helped control withdrawal symptoms caused by cannabis addiction. It helped ease dissociative symptoms as well as anxiety.
- Opioid — CBD may help prevent drug-seeking behavior and relapse in opioid addiction.
- Alcohol — CBD protected the brain cells against neurotoxicity caused by alcohol.
Where to Buy CBD Oil
Nowadays, looking for CBD oil is no longer a problem. This product is readily available on the market, and you’ll find it in different flavors as well as potencies.
When choosing a good CBD oil, be sure to look for the following factors:
- Uses 100% organic CBD and other ingredients
- Laboratory test result or the product’s certificate of analysis (COA)
- Good company and product reviews
- Excellent customer service
Stay away from unknown CBD brands, especially those that don’t have any reviews or have received more bad reviews than good. Avoid CBD companies, too, that have poor customer service or give dodgy answers about their products and what goes in them.
Be safe and always research first the CBD company, its products, and what people say about them. Ask about the CBD source, where the company got it from, and if it’s organic and 100% natural. Look for its COA, know more about the additional ingredients, and make sure the product contains its stated potency. Lastly, check if the oil is free from contaminants and toxins.
If you’re looking to buy CBD oil in Canada, you may want to visit us at ICARIA. We offer a good collection of CBD products — from lab-tested CBD oils to topical CBD products and pet CBD products.
We source our CBD from organically grown industrial hemp, and we always have them laboratory tested by a certified third-party testing facility.
If you want to know about ICARIA and our products, feel free to visit our website or send us a message now.
