Clinical studies have shown that cannabidiol CBD can treat schizophrenia just as well as prescription antipsychotics, with a single onset of action

Cannabidiol (CBD), a component derived from the cannabis plant, has been shown to be a beneficial alternative therapy for people with schizophrenia. A recent study out this year shows that both CBD and AMI (Amisulpride, a commonly prescribed drug for schizophrenia) effectively improve neurocognitive function in early and acute schizophrenia patients through a mechanism independent of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide.



This is a double-blind, randomised clinical trial, published on the official website of the National Academy of Medicine.

With over 20 million people worldwide struggling with schizophrenia, this difficult to treat and serious mental health disorder is an urgent issue.

Symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations, delusions, negative symptoms, and disordered or irrational motor behavior. These can cause people to struggle with motivation, sleep, and work performance, have problems in social situations, and their symptoms can even cause patients to fall into debilitating and disabling conditions. When the condition continues to worsen, schizophrenia can even lead to suicidal thoughts and tendencies.

Doctors often prescribe anti-psychotic medication to reduce their symptoms, however these medications have many side effects: dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, dizziness, sun sensitivity, menstrual problems, skin rashes, etc.

The earliest study of the effects of CBD on schizophrenia occurred in 1995, when researchers gave a 19-year-old girl 1500mg of CBD every day for 4 weeks and found an improvement in her psychotic symptoms, but this clinical study was limited.

The latest research from 2021 suggests that CBD is beneficial in improving cognition and fighting psychosis. The study involved 42 patients with schizophrenia who were treated with a prescription drug called Amisulpride, and an antipsychotic drug called CBD. While both treatments improved the cognitive abilities of the study participants, CBD had significantly fewer side effects.


There is also evidence that even as little as one dose of CBD can already work in people with psychosis. a 2020 study suggests that it can help with memory problems associated with psychosis. This was concluded when fMRI scans were used to analyse the brain activity of 13 people diagnosed with psychosis and how they responded to one dose of CBD or a placebo, as well as 16 controls who were asked to perform a memory task.

The researchers found that patients taking the placebo had different patterns of activity in the temporal and prefrontal parts of the brain, but there were still significant differences compared to normal people. And when the psychiatric patients took a dose of CBD, the activity in these brain regions was similar to that of normal people and could perform the same memory tasks.

Sagnik Bhattacharyya, lead author of the study, said, "Not only do we now know that CBD can be used as an antipsychotic, but we know that it targets areas of the brain, which gives us the scientific basis to conduct a large-scale clinical trial,This study provides important insights into the brain mechanisms behind the antipsychotic effects of CBD and shows that even a single dose can improve certain alterations in brain function that may contribute to psychosis, thus providing confidence in the antipsychotic potential of CBD. These results help support further clinical trials using CBD in different stages of psychosis as well as in other neuropsychiatric disorders such as Parkinson's disease."

Points to note

While there are studies that prove CBD is beneficial in the treatment of schizophrenia, it is never recommended to skip commonly used medications in the first place and use CBD without consulting a doctor. when shopping around for CBD treatment, please be careful to buy products made by regular manufacturers. In addition, CBD has the potential to interact adversely with antipsychotic medications, so combining CBD with other antipsychotic medications is not recommended.