CBD – Page 4 – Culture For Good

August 23, 2021September 6, 2022

In CBD, Lifestyleby Callie Gilman

6 Medicines CBD Can Affect

Many people are turning to CBD as an alternative to a variety of illnesses, such as anxiety and chronic pain. Yet, many of these people already have prescriptions to other medication.

Does CBD interact with other medications?

Yes! Though research hasn’t confirmed the interactions between every medicine and CBD, it has found a few notable associations. Both positive and negative¹.

Within this article, we’re going to list the medications research can confirm CBD interaction with.

1Clobazam – Severe Interaction

Clobazam is a medication people take to control seizures. It breaks itself down through the liver and, due to this, cannabidiol has the potential to decrease how quickly the liver breaks down this medication.

Currently, CBD is only certified by the FDA for epilepsy, a “seizure disorder”². If clobazam isn’t working for your situation, you’ll want to consult your doctor about making the switch to this alternative medication.

2Valproic Acid – Severe Interaction

Derived from fatty acids, valproic acid is an anticonvulsant medication. Unfortunately, many patients have found the medication to cause serious harm to the liver. Taking CBD not only increases the chance of this harm but can also further damage already done.

As with clobazam, you should consult your doctor before using CBD as an anticonvulsant medication.

3Eslicarbazepine – Moderate Interaction

Eslicarbazepine is a medication used for partial-onset seizures. CBD interacts with it in two distinct ways:

It may reduce how fast eslicarbazepine breaks down in the body.
It may increase the effects of eslicarbazepine.

4Rufinamide – Moderate Interaction

Rufinamide is another seizure medication that is changed and broken down within the body. Due to some of CBD’s properties, it may reduce the body’s ability to break down rufinamide. Furthermore, CBD may increase the effects and side effects of rufinamide.

5Sedative Medications (CNS Depressants) – Moderate Interaction

The purpose of Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants is to slow down brain activity. In turn, this deceleration helps to momentarily treat symptoms of the following illnesses³:

Acute stress reactions
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Sleep disorders (such as insomnia)

Common examples of CNS depressants are divided into two categories:

Barbiturates

Mephobarbital (Merbaral)
Pentobarbitalsodium (Nembutal)

Benzodiazepines

Diazepam (Valium)
Alprazolam (Xanax)
Estazolam (ProSom)

Studies have revealed that CBD itself can cause sleepiness and drowsiness. – Since CNS depressants can do the same, you may feel an overwhelming amount of sleepiness and drowsiness when mixing CBD and sedatives.

6Topiramate – Moderate Interaction

Topiramate is another medication used to prevent and control seizures but has also been found to aid people who suffer from migraine headaches.

Like other seizure medication, topiramate is broken down and changed in the body. Cannabidiol can reduce how fast the body breaks down this medication and increase the effects.

Final Thoughts

CBD has been proven to reduce seizures in people who suffer from it. Many people have received prescriptions for these uncontrolled electrical brain disturbances often find their medication isn’t helping. With that, their eyes are set on CBD as an alternative.

If you are currently in this situation, we highly suggest giving CBD a try. However, before you do, it’s vital you consult your doctor. As this article portrays, CBD can have a negative impact on various seizure medication many people are prescribed.

Still, that’s not to say you should overlook cannabidiol. Countless stories appear across the web on a daily basis praising its ability to heal and help people. Many have already made the organic switch as they’ve found it works more effectively than their prescription medication.

If you’re interested in taking CBD for medicinal purposes, you might find our CBD Myst a good place to start. You can find out more information about it here.

Reference Sources

¹ MedlinePlus: Cannabidiol

² FDA: FDA approves first drug comprised of an active ingredient derived from marijuana…

³ NIH: What are prescription CNS depressants?

August 23, 2021September 2, 2022

In CBDby Callie Gilman

4 Tips For Taking CBD When You’re Sick

When the cold, flu (influenza), or a virus comes on, the body has a tendency to produce some nasty symptoms. These include:

Body aches
Congestion
Fatigue
Headaches
Runny nose
Sore throats

Though over-the-counter medication does all it can to alleviate these symptoms, it never seems to be enough. With cannabidiol (CBD) making so many headlines as a therapeutic medication, it comes as no surprise many people wonder if it can help for common sicknesses. There are ways in which CBD can help and ways in which it can actually worsen symptoms. Throughout this article, we’re going to review both.

1CBD vs. Traditional Medication

Though over-the-counter medication does all it can to alleviate the cold and flu symptoms, it never seems to be enough. With cannabidiol (CBD) making so many headlines as a therapeutic medication, it comes as no surprise many people wonder if it can help for common sicknesses. As you’re probably aware, there currently isn’t a cure for the common cold or flu. Though getting your flu shot before the winter season can help (and is highly advised), dodging these common sicknesses at least once a year is practically unavoidable. With the understanding, most medication out there seeks to relieve symptoms rather than targeting viruses. Since a new flu or cold virus appears so frequently, scientists don’t have the time nor ability to develop a medication that properly kills it off.

Keeping all this in mind, CBD also doesn’t have the ability to kill off a cold virus. In other words, if you’re already feeling the onset of a cold, you’re bound to get symptoms.

However, CBD may just have the ability to alleviate some of these symptoms.

2Pain Relief

Research has confirmed CBD can be used as a treatment method for chronic pain.³ This data suggests it may help with some of the pain associated with a cold or flu, such as body aches and headaches. However, this suggestion isn’t confirmed.

3Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Viral

Currently, there is no research suggesting CBD can properly fight off a cold or flu virus or infection. However, due to cannabidiols anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, it might help in getting rid of your sickness faster.⁴

4Cold And Flu Symptom Help

One of the biggest discoveries scientists made was CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties. Certain cold and flu symptoms can be associated with inflammation, such as a sore throat or swollen nasal and sinus passageways.⁵ Numerous studies have also found CBD can help people who suffer from nausea. Sometimes, when we get a cold or flu, we experience nausea or vomiting.⁶ One of the biggest difficulties when it comes to getting the flu or cold is many people feel restless. Cannabidiol can not only help people get to bed quicker, but also give them better quality sleep.⁸

Taking CBD While Sick

There are methods of taking cannabidiol which most likely won’t help you when you’re sick. For example, smoking hemp buds or vaping CBD e-liquid juice can actually worsen certain symptoms, such as a sore throat.

If you’re thinking about taking cannabidiol while you’re sick, it’s suggested you consume it through an edible, tincture, or topical. If interested in finding products of this category, feel free to check out Culture for Good’s products page.

Reference Sources

¹ CDC: Common Colds: Protect Yourself and Others

² World Health Organization: Cannabidiol (CBD)

³ Dovepress: Cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain

⁴ PubMed: Antibacterial activity of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol.

⁵ HHS Public Access: Cannabinoids as novel anti-inflammatory drugs

⁶ BJP: Regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids

⁷ Frontiers in Immunology: Targeting Cannabinoid Signaling in the Immune System: “High”-ly Exciting Questions, Possibilities, and Challenges

⁸ The Permanente Journal: Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series

August 20, 2021September 2, 2022

In Cancer, CBDby Callie Gilman

4 Facts We Know About CBD and Cancer

Some scientists have alluded to the idea that cannabidiol CBD might just be a strong fighting agent against cancer. And this is quite exciting news considering medical professionals still don’t have access to a cure. Over the last decade, a lot of research has gone into this topic. Unfortunately, the FDA still hasn’t approved CBD nor any cannabis product for the treatment of cancer. However, as more research develops, opinions continue to change and a push for better regulations arises.

So, how much do we know and is CBD really going to be the miracle medicine we’ve been looking for? Throughout this article, we’re going to look into what research says surrounding CBD and cancer.

1CBD And Preventing The Spread Of Cancer

Before we dive deeper into this topic, it’s important to remember that there are a lot of different forms of cancer. And the research we currently have has only looked into so many of these.

What we know, as of this time, is:

Through a 2015 study, it was found that there was a link between cannabis use and bladder cancer. The study concluded that those who used cannabis (namely marijuana which has some CBD) were 45% less likely to develop bladder cancer.¹

In another study, it was found that CBD averted a specific gene known to cause breast cancer. It was also discovered to impede on ID-1 which prevents cancer cells from spreading throughout the body.²

Other research has found that CBD, along with the cannabinoids cannabivarin (CBV) and cannabigerol (CBG), has been found to control gene regulation responsible for the spread of skin cancer.³

What research confirms is CBD can’t necessarily battle cancer the way many people hoped. However, it may just be able to prevent cancer from spreading. And, with that, doctors may one day use it as a complementary therapy to already standard treatment.

2CBD And Treating Cancer

Though research is still limited, what it shows it that CBD prevents cancer growth, but doesn’t get rid of cancer as a whole. Therefore, it’s unlikely cannabidiol will ever be the “cure” for cancer. However, that’s not to say it can’t save lives. If cancer is found in the early stages (or if someone makes CBD a regular part of their supplementary diet), then this might have the ability to stop it from reaching fatal levels.

Still, it’s important to mention that as of this time, medical professionals aren’t entirely sure how CBD and cancer cells truly work with one another.

3CBD And Complementary Therapy For Cancer

The role of CBD goes beyond potentially being able to prevent cancer from spreading. The current treatment for cancer (primarily, chemotherapy) is extremely uncomfortable and comes with a list of side effects. It’s been discovered CBD may be able to help make this treatment a bit more bearable.

This is due to the fact that CBD has the ability to:

Alleviate nausea – Chemotherapy tends to leave people feeling nauseous – many times to the point of vomiting. Research has found that many cannabinoids, including CBD and THC, are able to reduce nausea within people.⁵
Relieve pain – both THC and CBD have been hailed as prominent pain releivers as they directly (and indirectly) affect our endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is responsible for delivering pain neurotransmitters to the brain and other areas of the body. This can also potentially put an end to the escalating opioid epidemic.
Stimulate the appetite – When someone undergoes chemotherapy, it’s common for them to lose a lot of weight. Due to high levels of nausea, eating becomes an uncomfortable process. However, the cannabinoid THC (along with a few others) has been found to help stimulate a person’s appetite.⁶

Still, even with these benefits, it should be mentioned that CBD comes with some notable side effects. These include:⁷

Low blood pressure (hypotension)
Muscle relaxation
Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
Reduced digestion

4CBD In The Future For Cancer

The information throughout this article is the sum of what we know about cannabinoids and cancer. Until further research is conducted, it’s very difficult to say just what cannabis’s role can be in cancer treatment.

However, it seems almost certain that cannabis can be a complementary medicine for cancer patients. Not only does it relieve many of the symptoms associated with chemotherapy but it can potentially help prevent the spread of cancer growth.

In many ways, these two factors should be considered a miracle for medical professionals. Still, due to prohibitions, it’s going to take time for cannabis to be accepted as a treatment option. This is why it’s entirely vital more research is pushed into how cannabinoids affect people suffering from cancer.

Final Thoughts On CBD For Cancer-related Use

As of this time, research concerning CBD and cancer remains inconclusive. Though there’s a lot of promise, we need to wait more time before we are certain as to the benefits of CBD for cancer.

Still, there are many people out there who may be looking at CBD for natural, therapeutic relief from cancer treatment. If you or someone you love is in this position, we invite you to visit our products page to learn more.