"Unique treatment potential of CBD for the prevention of relapse to drug use: preclinical proof of principle"

Cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive constituent of Cannabis sativa, has received attention for therapeutic potential in treating neurologic and psychiatric disorders. 
Recently, CBD has also been explored for potential in treating drug addiction. 

Substance use disorders are chronically relapsing conditions and relapse risk persists for multiple reasons including craving induced by drug contexts, susceptibility to stress, elevated anxiety, and impaired impulse control. This study from NCBI was published online in 2018 Mar 22 and evaluate the “anti-relapse” potential of CBD  in animal models of drug seeking, anxiety and impulsivity.
The Study...

For the study, rats with alcohol or cocaine self-administration histories received transdermal CBD at 24 h intervals for 7 days and were tested for context and stress-induced reinstatement, as well as experimental anxiety on the elevated plus maze. 


Effects on impulsive behavior were established using a delay-discounting task following recovery from a 7-day dependence-inducing alcohol intoxication regimen. CBD attenuated context-induced and stress-induced drug seeking without tolerance, sedative effects, or interference with normal motivated behavior. 

Following treatment termination, reinstatement remained attenuated up to ≈5 months although plasma and brain CBD levels remained detectable only for 3 days. CBD also reduced experimental anxiety and prevented the development of high impulsivity in rats with an alcohol dependence history. 

The results provide proof of principle supporting potential of CBD in relapse prevention along two dimensions: beneficial actions across several vulnerability states and long-lasting effects with only brief treatment. The findings also inform the ongoing medical marijuana debate concerning medical benefits of non-psychoactive cannabinoids and their promise for development and use as therapeutics.

Two unique “therapeutic” dimensions of CBD. 

First, CBD exerted beneficial effects relevant for several relapse-promoting conditions including sensitivity to drug-related contexts and stress, anxiety, and impaired impulse control. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis and provide proof of principle supporting the potential of CBD to concurrently ameliorate multiple vulnerability states that underlie relapse risk. 

Second, CBD produced unexpected long-lasting “therapeutic” effects following only brief treatment in the two reinstatement models of relapse. Further adding to the treatment promise of CBD, the efficacy of the cannabinoid to reduce reinstatement in rats with both alcohol, cocaine, and  heroin —histories predicts therapeutic potential for addiction treatment across several classes of abused drugs.

Conclusion...

The results inform the present medical marijuana debate by confirming that non-psychoactive, non-addictive constituents of Cannabis sativa such as CBD may be highly effective and readily amenable for development as therapeutics. CBD has found application for the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis. CBD also has long received attention for therapeutic potential in the treatment of numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders. Our findings extend understanding of CBD’s therapeutic profile to potential medical benefit for relapse prevention in substance use disorders.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov