The drug interactions created by cannabidiol (CBD) have always been a concern among healthcare providers and users. This compound can interact with certain drugs and reduce their effectiveness. It can also lead to liver toxicity thereby damaging this organ. Hence, it is important for you to be careful when taking CBD along with other drugs.
CBD will not interact with all drugs. But there are certain drugs that lead to unwanted interactions when taken together with CBD. So through this article, we provide all the necessary information you want to know about CBD drug interactions.
Why CBD Cause Drug Interactions?
Certain liver enzymes play a great role in metabolizing drugs and eliminating them from the body. CY450 is an important family of liver enzymes that process drugs. These enzymes are also responsible for processing different cannabinoids including CBD. CYP3A4 is one of the important enzymes that metabolize a large number of prescription drugs and cannabinoids.
It is found that CBD can affect the working of the CYP3A4 enzyme thereby impacting the drug metabolism. This compound can inhibit or boost the metabolism of certain drugs by interacting with this enzyme. If the processing of a drug is inhibited, more amounts of that particular drug can be present in your body at a given time which can increase the chance of severe side effects.
Similarly, if a drug is metabolized quickly than the required speed, then you won’t be able to derive the intended effects from it. So the condition you are trying to treat with that particular medication will become worse.
Hence, you have to be careful about CBD drug interactions when taking this compound with other medications. This problem can also increase the risk of side effects of CBD.
Drugs That Can Interact With CBD
Be careful when you take medications that have grapefruit warnings, as those medications can also interact with CBD. The following are some of the medications that might lead to unwanted interactions with CBD:
- Antidepressants (like Prozac, fluoxetine)
- Macrolide antibiotics (such as clarithromycin, erythromycin)
- Heart medications (certain calcium channel blockers)
Who Should Not Take CBD?
If you have some liver diseases, it is better to avoid the use of CBD. But CBD topical products may not create such effects, as the CBD and other cannabinoids present in these products are not entering the bloodstream. So these products might be safe for you to use without worrying about drug interactions.