Research Finds Potential Benefit of Pure CBD for the Management of OCD Symptoms

Contemporary Clinic® interviewed Carrie Cuttler, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Washington State University, on a recent study she co-authored that was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders on the use of cannabis in treating symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Alana Hippensteele: You mentioned that there may be value in investigating the treatment of compulsions, intrusions, and anxiety with pure CBD. Specifically, why might pure CBD be beneficial, and how would you define pure?

For example, there are isolate, broad spectrum, and full spectrum as common terms used for CBD products sold on the market today. Would any of these terms apply or perhaps not?

Carrie Cuttler: The finding that higher levels of CBD were associated with larger symptom reduction led me to suggest that future investigations should really examine whether pure CBD effectively reduces compulsions, and by that I just meant CBD, either with no THC or with very low THC.

Really, I think all 3 products would be very interesting to investigate. The idea is really just that the intoxicating effects of cannabis, the most detrimental effects of cannabis, and the negative side effects of cannabis are really more associated to THC, so reducing or eliminating THC may be more desirable.

The other thing I wanted to mention in response to your last question was just that we really didn't have enough data on CBG, CBN, or any of the minor phytocannabinoids or terpenes to explore their potential effects, but future research should definitely do so.