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. 2022 Oct 25:12:20451253221128445.
doi: 10.1177/20451253221128445. eCollection 2022.

Acceptability of cannabidiol in patients with psychosis

Edward Chesney  1 , Doga Lamper  2 , Millie Lloyd  2 , Dominic Oliver  2 , Emily Hird  2 , Philip McGuire  2
Affiliations

Acceptability of cannabidiol in patients with psychosis

Edward Chesney et al. Ther Adv Psychopharmacol. .

Abstract

Background: Cannabidiol (CBD) is a promising novel candidate treatment for psychosis. It has a more benign side effect profile than antipsychotic medications, and being treated with CBD is not perceived as being stigmatising. These observations suggest that patients with psychosis would find CBD to be a relatively acceptable treatment.

Objective: This study tested the above hypothesis by assessing the views of a sample of patients.

Methods: Patients with a psychotic disorder were invited to complete a survey exploring their expectations about the efficacy and side effects of CBD.

Results: Seventy patients completed the survey. The majority (86%) were willing to try CBD as a treatment. Most patients believed that CBD would improve their psychotic symptoms (69%) and that it would have fewer side effects than their current medication (64%; mainly antipsychotics). A minority of patients (10%) were concerned that CBD might exacerbate their psychotic symptoms. This, however, appeared to reflect confusion between the effects of CBD and those of cannabis.

Conclusion: Most patients with psychosis regard CBD as an acceptable treatment. Although CBD has not yet been approved as a treatment for psychosis, many patients are aware of it through the presence of CBD in cannabis and in health supplements. When added to the emerging evidence of its efficacy and the low risk of side effects, the high acceptability of CBD underlines its therapeutic potential.

Keywords: CBD; Psychosis; Schizophrenia; acceptability; cannabidiol.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Participants’ expectations regarding the efficacy and side effects of CBD.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Tablet, capsule and oil formulations are acceptable to most participants.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Oil was the preferred formulation for the largest proportion of participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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