CBD Oil for Addiction

Addictions CBD oil is known to help with:

Smoking/Nicotine
Opiates
Alcoholism

Quitting Smoking/Nicotine

Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the United States. It can lead to lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, and other deadly conditions. Despite the risks, smoking is difficult to quit. This is because of nicotine, a highly addictive substance found in tobacco. It causes a temporary feeling of relaxation, followed almost immediately by withdrawal symptoms.

For smoking, we recommend a vaping product. Your most effective approach would be vaping plus an oral tincture dosage.

If you’re not into vaping or don’t have a smoking addiction, all other addictions would be best aided by CBD using an oral dosage, taking it like a daily supplement.

Fighting the Opioid Epidemic

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that opioid overdoses take the lives of 90 Americans every day, and cannabis may be one of the keys to battling the opioid epidemic. States that permit medical cannabis have 24 percent fewer deaths by opioid overdose than states that do not. Cannabis may also support people who are trying to quit using opioids by helping with withdrawal symptoms.

CBD, in particular, has been shown to reduce drug-seeking behavior. This could be because CBD provides relief for symptoms that introduce people to using opioids, like chronic pain. Unlike opioid painkillers, though, CBD helps people to manage pain without getting them high.

CBD can help fight addiction by addressing every point in the addiction cycle. It may help to prevent addiction by providing relief for many of the conditions that make people vulnerable to addiction, like pain, insomnia and mood disorders. For those who are already suffering from addiction, it may help reduce cravings and reduce withdrawal symptoms. And for those who have quit, it may support their healing by reducing the likelihood of relapse.

Addiction works by triggering the pleasure and reward mechanisms in the brain. Over time, this creates the compulsion to seek out the addictive substance. Then, when a person stops using it, they experience painful withdrawal symptoms.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a natural substance derived from

thecannabis plant – and it holds a great deal of promise for preventing and treating addiction. Recent studies show that CBD may help by:

Reducing cravings
Helping to manage withdrawal symptoms
Addressing the symptoms or conditions that contribute to substance abuse
Increasing overall well-being, making people less likely to seek out addictive substances

In one study, smokers who wanted to quit were given inhalers with either CBD or a placebo. When they felt the urge to smoke, the smokers used the inhalers. Over the week-long study, the CBD group was able to reduce the number of cigarettes consumed by about 40 percent. The placebo group, on the other hand, had no reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked.

Alcoholism

Alcohol is widely available and socially acceptable, making it easy to over-indulge. But from motor vehicle accidents to liver disease, the risks associated with alcohol abuse can affect every part of a person’s life.

Preclinical trials suggest that CBD may be useful in treating alcoholism. CBD’s neuroprotective properties may help protect the brain from alcohol-related damage, which can cause significant cognitive impairment for heavy drinkers.

CBD may also help to reduce alcohol consumption and prevent relapse.

Beyond treating people who are already addicted to alcohol, CBD could also help with some of the conditions that lead people to self-medicate. Safely addressing mental health issues like depression, psychosis and anxiety disorders may make people much less likely to abuse alcohol.

Ranking the Best CBD Oils for Addiction

“Not Why the Addiction, but Why the Pain?” – Gabor Mate

If you are struggling with an addiction, you are NOT ALONE. According to the Washington Post one in eight American adults is an alcoholic, 37.8 million adults in the United States smoke cigarette (16 million of whom live with a smoking-related disease according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention) and as of 2016 2.1 million Americans had an opioid-related disorder according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Where does one even begin when discussing treatment of addiction? More than ever studies indicate that we begin in childhood. The ACES study or Adverse Childhood Experiences study indicates that those who experienced trauma both acute and long-term during childhood are much more likely to engage in poor behavioral health choices- often times drug use is right at the top of the list. Take a glance at how ACEs lead to health-risk behaviors. The summary appears to be pretty grim: large percentages of American’s engage in harmful addictive patterns that lead to early death. When it comes to opioid-related addictions the number of affected American’s is rapidly growing. Addiction is not an isolated issue. Along with it often comes anxiety, depression, and even despair– despair that crescendos to suicide, overdose, or a further plunge into a gripping era of addiction. And to top it off, it appears as though abstinence-only approaches to treating addiction are not especially effective. American Addiction Centers reports that AA only works for about 8-12% of its participants. While harm-reduction practices show better results, policy in America still prevents people who use from accessing the care they need to use drugs more safely.

So, what can be done? For many, the answer is not to turn to pharmaceuticals as many of the drugs people are addicted to are pharmaceuticals! Not to mention, many pharmaceuticals have side effects like depression and anxiety that caused the addiction to begin with. For many, we’re staring down a seemingly endless cyclical pattern with no sign of freedom. More so than ever, we have turned towards supplements like St. John’s Wort, lavender, and chamomile to at least alleviate some of these tough symptoms that accompany and/or predate addiction.

So, are there steps can you actually take to naturally alleviate addiction? Believe it or not, there have been plants available to us for thousands of years that naturally take action with our nervous system, our brain, and other organs in our body that help us eliminate toxins, ease stress, and combat depression.

The use of plant medicine predates pharmaceuticals and rarely have side effects. CBD is one such plant that actually works to alleviate many of the symptoms that lead to addiction as well as symptoms people experience when coming down from drugs. While symptoms and causes of addictions vary, some of the most common afflictions linked to addiction include:

anxiety
depression
insomnia
physical pain
trauma
and other causes

There are many ways in which CBD and other botanicals alleviate these symptoms. For this reason, we have looked at CBD products that include these ingredients. See below for our exact methodology on how we chose our top CBD oils for addiction.

Top 3 CBD Oil Brands To Fight Addiction

1) biodMD+

biomd+ makes it their practice to provide only the highest quality products, though the best extraction method evinced by third-party testing. According to bioMD+, their top picks for extraction are cradling and Supercritical CO2. Both ensure the extraction of “full spectrum” CBD. Generally, CBD oil taken as a tincture is an overall effective treatment for addiction as CBD tinctures slowly build in the system leading to a longer lasting and slow incremental change. As you probably know, CBD helps to boost our naturally existing endocannabinoid system- a system that regulates our sleep, immune-system response, and pain. We recommend Cannabidoil Life’s CBD Oil that comes in 750 mg, 1,500 mg, and 3,000 mg strengths- which, according to CBD Life is the highest concentration of CBD tincture on the market. If you struggle with depression anxiety in tandem with your addiction, you may want to start with a stronger dose of CBD oil as the CBD activates the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor to help with anxiety, addiction appetite, sleep and withdrawal symptoms like nausea and vomiting. Though the general rule of thumb is to start small and build, if you are looking to taper off of a powerful chemically enhanced opiate, a stronger dose of CBD may be where you should start. Essentially. we are recommending you treat the mental anguish and pain, as Gabor Mate put it so candidly in his talk about addiction. If you are that individual who started with pharmaceutical pain pills like oxycodone due to physical pain, you may want a much safer alternative. We recommend treating the pain acutely with Soothe Balm. In addition to the highly therapeutic benefits of CBD, this formula includes other naturally calming botanicals including arnica, lavender, St. John wort, calendula, and comfrey root. The combined efforts of these powerful plants make for potent and acute relief from physical pain without side effects and a lifetime of addiction.

2) Go Green Hemp

Go Green Hemp promises purity in their CBD products, and goes to great lengths to establish credibility in this poorly regulated industry. Consumers have access first-hand to how the company grows, extracts and manufacturers their products through a video tour of the facilities as well as a via published lab tests results for each batch of their CBD. Throughout the process, the company far exceeds the market standard” from soil to oil.” Their non-GMO source hemp is organically cultivated in Colorado, and subjected to gently, full-spectrum extraction processes, before being compounded into potent and high-quality teas, capsules, vape liquids and tinctures. They offer a wide-range of products to help individuals with a myriad of addictions. Those who are looking to quit smoking and remain smoke-free may benefit from vaping their product. The tea contains other natural botanicals that are known to relieve anxiety and help with calming the mind and body including hibiscus, chamomile, and lavender which is said to help with racing thoughts, and chronic anxiety. The company also offers a full spectrum tincture for long-lasting relief from anxiety and depression as well as continual regulation of sleep to combat insomnia that often accompanies the intake of harmful drugs like amphetamines.

3) Verified CBD Oil

Verified CBD Oil makes its name not only for its transparency but also for its quality and accessibility.
Their source hemp is pesticide-free, European-grown, Non-GMO, CO2 Extracted, and full-spectrum. If you suffer from addiction accompanied by anxiety one of the best methods to help treat this problem is through a CBD oil. From their Verified line, we recommend Dream. This “custom-crafted” blend includes the relaxing and de-frazzling botanicals lavender, valerian, and roman chamomile. This is a great blend for treating insomnia but can be used for general calming as well. Another option is the company’s unflavored CBD oil, which can be vaped, and comes in strengths of 14.5 mg, 58 mg, 140 mg, 500 mg or 750 mg. Vaping is a great option for individuals looking for quick relief from intense craving. And can be used regularly to help when tapering off of any drug. Naturally, this is an effective use for individuals who are looking to stop smoking. Still another choice is Verified CBD capsules, which are both vegan and gluten-free. Each potent capsule each contains 25 mg of multi- cannabinoid, full-spectrum hemp extract.