High Doses Of CBD Don't Affect Driving, New Study Shows - Forbes

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Researchers of the University of Sydney, Australia, found that high doses of CBD don't impair driving.

Published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology on May 30, the study says that oral CBD treatment, even if taken at a high dosage, doesn't "appear to induce feelings of intoxication and is unlikely to impair cognitive function or driving performance."

Researchers analyzed the simulated driving performance of 17 participants who undertook driving tasks after consuming a placebo and three different dosages of CBD in oil: 15mg, 300mg, and 1,500 mg.

Participants had to take two tests. In the first one, they had to try to maintain a safe distance between themselves and a lead vehicle. The second implied driving along highways and rural roads.

Participants completed the task between 45-75 minutes after taking their assigned treatment. They repeated the same driving simulations with a time interval between 3.5 and four hours. This was necessary to cover the range of plasma CBD concentrations at different times. They repeated the tests four times, under placebo and each of the three different dosages of CBD treatments.

The researchers considered participants' driving ability and measured how they controlled the simulated car, how much they weaved or drifted, as well as their cognitive function, subjective experiences, and the CBD concentrations in their plasma.

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They concluded that no dose of CBD induced feelings of intoxication or appeared to impair either driving or cognitive performance.

"The results of this study suggest that acute, oral CBD treatment at doses up to 1500 mg does not induce feelings of intoxication and is unlikely to impair cognitive function or driving performance. However, further research is required to confirm no effect of CBD on safety-sensitive tasks in the hours immediately post-treatment and with chronic administration," the study says.

On the University of Sydney's website, lead author Dr. Danielle McCartney said that although CBD is generally considered non-intoxicating, its effects on safety-sensitive tasks are still being established. "Our study is the first to confirm that, when consumed on its own, CBD is driver-safe."

However, she added that the study looked at CBD in isolation only and that drivers taking CBD with other medications should do so with care.

Researchers confirmed the finding of another study published in 2020, which indicated that CBD when taken through the use of vaporizers, did not impair driving, while THC and THC/CBD-equivalent cannabis produced a short-term impairment during experimental on-road driving.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the main compounds of the cannabis plant, but unlike THC, several studies have shown that it doesn't provide intoxicating effects.

The 2018 Farm Bill on hemp legalization made CBD and other minor cannabis compounds legal if they don't contain a THC level above 0.3 percent.

Its popularity has ramped up in recent years. It has shown medical benefits in treating several conditions due to its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects demonstrated in several studies over the years.

However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has so far approved only one CBD-based drug, Epidiolex, which treats seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome in patients one year of age and older.

Although the FDA recognizes the potential opportunities that cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds may offer, its position is very restrictive towards those companies that market and sell CBD products as dietary supplements through false, deceptive, and misleading claims that may put the health and safety of consumers at risk.

Furthermore, FDA warns that taking CBD products and driving can be dangerous.

"CBD can cause sleepiness, sedation, and lethargy. Because of these side effects, consumers should use caution if planning on operating a motor vehicle after consuming any CBD products," it reads on its website.

CBD doesn't qualify as a controlled substance. Therefore, there is little probability of being charged with driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated or impaired (DWI) for CBD use in US states.

However, a positive THC reading due to CBD usage could result in DUI or DWI charges.

Such a risk is real, as a recent study showed that a majority of CBD sleep products are mislabeled and could contain significant amounts of THC.

Inaccurate concentrations on labels of CBD products may contain higher THC concentrations than it's supposed to. Therefore, the amount of THC in the human body could be higher than expected.