According to a new study, consumption of the cannabis compound cannabigerol (CBG) can lead to “overall reductions in anxiety as well as reductions in stress”, while also leading to “enhanced verbal memory relative to placebo”.
Published in the journal Nature: Scientific Reports, the study is titled Acute effects of cannabigerol on anxiety, stress, and mood: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, field trial. It was conducted by researchers at Washington State University and the University of California.
“Cannabigerol (CBG) is a phytocannabinoid increasing in popularity, with preclinical research indicating it has anxiolytic and antidepressant effects”, states the study’s abstract. “However, there are no published clinical trials to corroborate these findings in humans.”
The primary objective of this study “was to examine acute effects of CBG on anxiety, stress, and mood. Secondary objectives were to examine whether CBG produces subjective drug effects or motor and cognitive impairments.”
For the study, a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over field trial was conducted with 34 healthy adult participants. Participants completed two sessions (with a one-week washout period) via Zoom. In each, they provided ratings of anxiety, stress, mood, and subjective drug effects prior to double-blind administration of 20 mg hemp-derived CBG or placebo tincture (T0). These ratings were collected again after participants ingested the product and completed an online survey (T1), the Trier Social Stress Test (T2), a verbal memory test and the DRUID impairment app (T3).
“Relative to placebo, there was a significant main effect of CBG on overall reductions in anxiety as well as reductions in stress at T1”, states the study. “CBG also enhanced verbal memory relative to placebo. There was no evidence of subjective drug effects or impairment.”
Researchers conclude that “CBG may represent a novel option to reduce stress and anxiety in healthy adults.”
