Can CBD Affect How Your Body Processes Medication?

By The Fresh Toast's Maria Loreto, provided exclusively to Benzinga Cannabis.

CBD is now widely available, so it’s imperative that you know how the compound  can interact with medication in a negative way.

CBD is one of the most wide reaching cannabinoids, finding placement in foods, beverages, gummies and supplements. Since the compound is available in so many shapes and forms, it’s very important to know if there’s a possibility of it interacting with other elements, especially when it comes to medications.

One of the aspects that has made CBD so attractive to consumers is the fact that it provides relief for plenty of symptoms while having minor side effects. This sets CBD apart from other medications, which can alter people’s lives in significant ways. But studies have shown that CBD has the potential of interacting with certain medications, altering the way in which our livers process foreign chemicals.

Healthline reports that a family of enzymes known as cytochrome P450 (CYP450) are in charge of converting foreign substances in order to eliminate them from the body. These enzymes are the ones that interact with cannabinoids, including CBD.

Specifically, this chemical is responsible for metabolizing around 60% of clinically prescribed medications. When CBD is in the body, the metabolization process is either slowed down or sped up, depending on the situation.

In some cases, this results in the medication spending more time in your body than necessary, messing with the dosage and possibly resulting in harmful or uncomfortable side effects. The reverse is also true. CBD can speed up the liver process, forcing your body to expel medication too quickly, which can render the drug ineffective.

Results like these prove that more research is necessary in order to understand the depths of CBD and its true medicinal capabilities, especially since many of the compound’s benefits appear when it’s taken as a supplement to other drugs. Since there are no clear answers at now, it’s important to be careful and to ask your doctor if CBD can be taken along with your medication.

Image by Unsplash