Cannabidiol to Reduce Anxiety Reactivity: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Social Anxiety Disorder
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2025-04-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
This study seeks to understand how cannabidiol (CBD) - a non-intoxicating chemical compound
obtained from the Cannabis sativa plant - affects biological and stress-related responses
that are believed to underlie anxiety disorders. This study will evaluate the effects of
different doses of CBD on blood plasma levels of anandamide (a molecule in the brain that has
been shown to help regulate stress responses; primary biological signature) and anxiety
reactivity to a standardized stress task (secondary target) in an acute (4-day) dosing study
(i.e., when steady state CBD levels have been reached). Approximately 60 subjects with social
anxiety disorder (SAD), ages 18-70, will participate in this study. They will be assigned by
chance to receive one of two doses of CBD (150 mg BID or 450 mg BID administered in two
divided doses daily) or placebo (which resembles the study drug but has no active
ingredients) BID for 3 days and on the morning of day 4. Knowledge gained from this study
will help determine the therapeutic potential of CBD for anxiety.