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Thursday March 28, 2024

Cannabis ingredient holds promise as antipsychotic medicine

By REUTERS
December 16, 2017

LONDON: An ingredient in cannabis called cannabidiol or CBD has shown promise in a clinical trial as a potential new treatment for psychosis, scientists said on Friday. Scientists conducted a small trial of people with psychosis and found patients treated with CBD had lower levels of psychotic symptoms than those who received a placebo. Psychosis is characterised by paranoia and hallucinations. The study found that they were also more likely to be rated as “improved” by their psychiatrist and there were signs of better cognitive performance and functioning. The most common forms of psychosis are part of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia - which affects more than 21 million people worldwide - and bipolar disorder, but psychotic symptoms can also occur in conditions like Parkinson’s disease and alcohol or drug abuse.