Is Mixing Cannabis and Prescription Drugs a Good Idea?

By Jelena Martinovic

It is well known that cannabis has many medicinal benefits, including chronic pain, epilepsy, anxiety, and treating the symptoms of PTSD.

However, in the case of cannabinoids, a group of substances found in the cannabis plant, there is a risk that combination with other prescription drugs could cause harmful drug interactions, new research from scientists at Washington State University (WSU) suggests. .

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Researchers studied cannabinoids and their major metabolites found in the blood of cannabis users and found that they disrupt two families of enzymes that help metabolize a variety of drugs that are prescribed for a variety of conditions. As a result, if too much builds up in the body, either the positive effects of the drugs may decrease or their negative effects may increase, leading to unintended side effects such as toxicity or accidental overdose.

The results examined the interaction between three of the most common cannabinoids – tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN).

Although further research is essential, the authors suggested that caution should be exercised when using cannabis with prescription drugs.

“Physicians need to be aware of the potential for toxicity or unresponsiveness when patients use cannabinoids,” said Philip Lazarus, lead author of the study and distinguished Boeing Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “It’s one thing when you’re young and healthy and you smoke cannabis every now and then, but for older people taking medication, taking CBD or medical marijuana can negatively affect their treatment.”

Lazarus added, “It’s one thing when you are young and healthy and smoke cannabis every now and then, but for older people taking medication, taking CBD or medical marijuana can negatively affect their treatment.”

The results

The researchers used engineered human kidney cells and confirmed their results in human liver and kidney samples in which enzymes were present.

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Shamema Nasrin, a PhD student at the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, emphasized that although cannabinoids remain in the consumer’s body for about 30 minutes before being rapidly broken down, the metabolites resulting from this process could remain in the system for up to 14 days.

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In addition, metabolites are also found “in higher concentrations than cannabinoids,” she said, adding that they were “overlooked in previous studies”.

Potential negative drug interactions include a decrease in the drug’s positive effects as well as an increase in its negative effects, leading to excessive buildup in the body that could cause unintended side effects such as toxicity or accidental overdose.

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“Taking CBD or marijuana can reduce your pain, but it can make the other drug you’re taking more toxic, and that increase in toxicity may mean you can’t continue taking that drug,” Nasrin said. “So there could be serious effects on cancer drugs, and that’s just one example of the many drugs that could potentially be affected by the cannabinoid-enzyme interactions that we’re seeing.”

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.