CBD May Provide Potential Improvements To Cognitive Performance

Cannabis opponents have spent a great deal of time and effort over many years trying to convince society that cannabis is bad for the human brain. While human biology is complex, particularly the human brain, at the macro level a growing body of evidence is proving that cannabis opponents are wrong.

The fact of the matter is that cannabis can be healthy for the human brain in certain instances. The research surrounding cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids is still largely in its infancy, and scientists are unlocking new knowledge every week.

Researchers in Brazil recently examined CBD and cognitive performance and the results are favorable. Below is more information about the study via a news release from NORML:

São Paulo, Brazil: The therapeutic use of CBD doesn’t adversely impact cognitive performance and may potentially improve it in certain subjects, according to a literature review published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.

Brazilian investigators reviewed 59 studies, including 23 clinical trials, assessing the cognitive safety of CBD. They reported a lack of cognitive deficits associated with CBD dosing. They further reported that CBD administration in animal models may be associated with cognitive improvements.

Authors concluded: “The results demonstrate that the chronic and acute administration of CBD seems not to impair cognition in humans without neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition, preclinical studies report promising results regarding the effects of CBD on the cognitive processing of animals. Future double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials with larger, less selective samples, with standardized tests, and using different doses of CBD in outpatients are of particular interest to elucidate the cognitive effects of CBD.”

A 2022 open-label trial performed by doctors at Harvard Medical School reported that patients with moderate-to-severe anxiety experience symptom improvements and better cognitive performance following the daily administration of full spectrum CBD extracts. Data published earlier this year reported that cancer patients taking CBD-infused edible products report subjective improvements in their cognitive functioning.

Full text of the study, “Effects of the acute and chronic administration of cannabidiol on cognition in humans and animals: A systemic review,” appears in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.