The effects of acute versus repeated cannabidiol administration on trauma‐relevant emotional reactivity: A double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial

Abstract

Despite the widespread use and perceived efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD) as an anxiolytic, few controlled studies have evaluated the effects of CBD on anxiety‐relevant indications, and only one has done so in the context of trauma‐related symptoms. The current study was designed to address this gap in the literature. Participants were 42 trauma‐exposed individuals (Mage = 23.12 years, SDage = 6.61) who endorsed elevated stress. They were randomly assigned to take 300 mg of oral CBD or placebo daily for 1 week. Acute (i.e., following an initial 300 mg dose) and repeated (i.e., following 1 week of daily 300 mg dosing) effects of CBD were evaluated in relation to indicators of anxious arousal (i.e., anxiety, distress, heart rate) in response to idiographic trauma script presentation. The results of the current study suggest that relative to placebo, 300 mg CBD did not significantly reduce anxiety, B = 13.37, t(37) = 1.71, p = .096, d = 0.09, Bayes factor (BF10) = 0.54; distress, B = 15.20, t(37) = 1.31, p = .197, d = 0.07, BF10 = 0.51; or heart rate, B = ‐1.09, t(36) = ‐0.32, p = .755, d = 0.02, BF10 = 0.29, evoked by idiographic trauma script presentation in the context of acute or repeated administration. These data suggest that CBD may not effectively reduce trauma‐relevant emotional arousal; however, more work is needed to confidently assert such claims due to the small sample size. The current study extends the groundwork for additional studies in this important area.