According to a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy human laboratory trial conducted by researchers from researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Arizona State University, cannabidiol (CBD) enhances the analgesic effects of the opioid hydromorphone without exacerbating its adverse effects.
CBD tincture.
The study involved 31 healthy participants who attended five outpatient sessions, receiving different drug conditions: placebo, hydromorphone alone, and hydromorphone combined with 50 mg, 100 mg, or 200 mg of CBD. Participants underwent pain assessments, subjective drug effect evaluations, and psychomotor performance tasks.
Results indicated that when combined with a dose of hydromorphone that did not independently produce significant pain relief, CBD enhanced analgesic effects for acute pain but not chronic pain models. However, the highest CBD dose (200 mg) led to increased self-reported adverse effects, which were not observed with the lower 50 mg dose. Additionally, CBD appeared to mitigate hydromorphone-induced psychomotor impairment.
“Cannabidiol mitigated psychomotor impairment observed with hydromorphone alone”, states the study. “These findings suggest that lower doses of CBD (50 mg) may have utility for enhancing acute analgesic properties of opioids without having corresponding increases in bad effects.”
For the full study, click here.
