Cannabidiol as a potential novel therapeutic agent for psychotic disorders

Despite schizophrenia being among the most debilitating and costly adult psychiatric disorders, current antipsychotic therapies have limited efficacy and are associated with a high incidence of metabolic and neurological side effects. The search for novel antipsychotic agents with improved efficacy and side effect profiles therefore represents a major goal in schizophrenia research. Accumulating evidence over the past two decades points to cannabidiol (CBD), a major nonpsychotropic constituent of the plant Cannabis sativa, as a promising compound for the treatment of schizophrenia. Indeed, both animal and human studies show that CBD may reverse psychotomimetic effects of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and support the potential use of CBD as an effective, safe, and well-tolerated antipsychotic compound with an encouraging side effect profile. However, further investigations are still needed to refine CBD as a convincing antipsychotic agent. This chapter reviews currently available preclinical, clinical, and epidemiological studies investigating possible antipsychotic properties of CBD, as well as the current regulation around the medical use of cannabis and CBD