#5: It's a Hemp Thing

apid heart rate. But at the same
time, cannabidiol on its own has
many properties that THC doesn’t
– as an anti-anxiety agent, as an
anti-psychotic, and doing all this
without producing intoxication, if
you will, that can happen with too
much THC. So this is just a few of
the things.
Project CBD: You mentioned CBD
in the context of it being combined
with THC; you also mention it as an
isolate. And GW Pharmaceuticals,
when you were involved with
the company, has done extensive
clinical trials focusing on CBD in
combination with THC for Sativex.
It’s been approved in a couple of
dozen countries as a sublingual spray.
But also GW has been focusing
more recently on Epidiolex, which is
more like a single molecule formula.
I realize there are some other things
in there, but it’s mainly CBD.
Russo: That’s true.
Project CBD: So what are the
advantages and disadvantages of
both ways of looking at it, both
as an isolate or as a whole plant
mixture?
Russo: So in Sativex, basically
it’s a 1:1 mixture of THC and
CBD, plus some other terpenoid
components. That turned out to
be the best approach for treating
a large variety of symptoms such
as spasticity in MS, some pain
conditions, particularly neuropathic
pain, and worked out quite well. In
the early days, the company looked
at different ratios and different
modes of administration and the
oral mucosa spray with Sativex with
this 1:1 mixture turned out to be a
good balance of efficacy and safety,
meaning fewer side effects.
On the other hand, cannabidiol
alone, again, would be very good
in treating a variety of other
conditions. One is epilepsy. CBD
as an anticonvulsant has a broad
spectrum of activity. In other words,
it works on many different kinds
of seizures and has the possibility,
again, of doing this without any
of the liability that THC might
produce, both in terms of side
effects but also legal constraints. So
that’s a big advantage. Additionally,
as an anti-psychotic, say to treat
schizophrenia, there’s already
been a Phase 2 clinical trial with
Epidiolex, in essence, with good
success apparently. That hasn’t been
published yet. But the preliminary
results were announced online.
Project CBD: So I’ve heard it
described that CBD is like THC
without the psychoactivity. Is that
accurate? Or is that sort of a blunt
description that really doesn’t get
at what’s going on here? Are there
other conditions that really CBD
seems more suitable than THC?
Russo: More the latter. It is really
distinct. Something I haven’t
mentioned is that in its own right
cannabidiol is an endocannabinoid
modulator, in other words, when
given chronically it actually increases
the gain of system, which is, at
its core, a homeostatic regulator.
To explain that: homeostasis is a
state of balance. Many diseases
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