Cannabis News & Blog

HOW CBD WORKS

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating component of the cannabis plant, has generated significant interest among scientists and physicians in recent years—but how CBD exerts its therapeutic impact on a molecular level is still being sorted out. Cannabidiol is a pleiotropic drug in that it produces many effects through multiple molecular pathways. The scientific literature has identified more than 65 molecular targets of CBD. Although CBD has little binding affinity for either of the two cannabinoid receptors (CB1and CB2), cannabidiol modulates several non-cannabinoid receptors and ion channels. CBDalso acts through various receptor-independent pathways—for example, by delaying the “reuptake” of endogenous neurotransmitters (such as anandamide and adenosine) and by enhancing or inhibiting the binding action of certain G-protein coupled receptors. Here...