CBD oil and driving – how does one impact the other? If you’re a regular user of CBD oil, perhaps you’ve wondered…
A new study has taken a look at how CBD oil impacts your actions behind the wheel – if this natural compound from the cannabis plant impairs a driver’s ability to navigate the road, and how it compares to the effects of THC.
CBD Oil and Driving Study
Researchers at the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney, Australia and the Maastricht University in the Netherlands joined forces to take a closer look at how both CBD and THC impact driving.
Their goal? To determine “the magnitude and duration of driving impairment following vaporization of cannabis containing varying concentrations of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).”
To do this, they gathered 26 participants and conducted 8 different driving tests. The chosen method of consumption was vaping. Participants were given either:
- CBD-dominant cannabis
- THC-dominant cannabis
- THC/CBD-equivalent cannabis
- A placebo
They also differed the time periods, looking at the impacts from 40 minutes to 4 hours after consumption.
To test impairment, researchers measured something called standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP; a measure of lane weaving) during 100 km, on-road driving tests.
CBD Oil and Driving: The Results
So, what did the study determine?
The SDLP with both the THC-dominant and the THC/CBD-equivalent cannabis compared with placebo was significantly greater after 40 to 100 minutes, but not 240 to 300 minutes. So, THC-dominant tests show impairment at early stages, but not after several hours.
Ok, that’s THC, but what about the CBD-dominant strain? The results show no significant differences between the CBD-dominant cannabis and the placebo. So, based on this, CBD has no impact on a person’s ability to drive safely.
Definitive Answer?
The results from this study are incredibly important, and they open the door for yet more research. That being said, the study is not without its own limitations.
Some have mentioned that the CBD doses tested in the study were “extremely low,” possibly too low for the CBD to have an affect. Although the study found no difference in driving after participants vaped the CBD strain compared to the placebo, some suggest that the results don’t rule out the possibility that higher doses could impair driving.
In response, the researchers have decided to set up a driving simulator study to test a wide range of CBD doses.
Regardless, as mentioned, these results are critical for our ever-expanding knowledge of the impacts and benefits of CBD oil.