CBD and Prescription Drug Interactions

It’s a weird time for the drug world. Nowadays, CBD is a common wellness product, cannabis is slowly (but surely) becoming legal in the US, and in the near future you’ll be able to fill your prescriptions on Amazon. Crazy, huh? 

With all these advancements, however, there is increasingly more and more room for error. According to the Department of Health, “serious adverse effects are rare with cannabis and its constituents.” But just because CBD is fairly benign on its own, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be as benign when mixed with other drugs. 

Any time we put one or more substances inside our bodies, there’s always a chance that they will interact with each other in new, unexpected ways. Even foods as simple as black pepper and grapefruits can have an impact on the way other drugs work!

Keep reading below for some helpful information if you’re interested in potential CBD drug interactions, as well as what you should know before you incorporate CBD into your lifestyle if you’re also taking prescription drugs. 

What Are Drug Interactions?

Anytime you take one or more medications (or even mix it with certain foods, beverages, or over-the-counter medicines) you are at risk of a drug interaction. 

Most drug interactions are not serious- but because a few are, it’s important to fully understand the possible outcomes. 

According to Drugs.com, the main different types of drug interactions are:

Drug-drug interactions:  A considerable proportion of adverse drug interactions are caused by interactions between other drugs. The more medications you take, the greater the chance for your drug interacting with another medicine. Drug-drug interactions can potentially decrease how well your medications work, may increase minor or serious unexpected side effects, or even increase the blood level and possible toxicity of a certain drug. 

Drug-food/beverage interactions: You may have seen warnings on your prescription labels telling you to “avoid grapefruit juice.” This might seem random, but certain medications can interact with foods or beverages- like grapefruits- which can lower the levels of enzymes in your liver responsible for breaking down medications. 

Drug-disease interactions: Drug interactions don’t always occur with just other drugs or foods. Your existing medical condition can affect the way a drug works, too. 

Why it’s Important to Check for Drug Interactions

Drug interactions are important to check for because they can:

• Affect how your medication works by changing levels of the drug in your blood
• Put you at risk for side effects and toxicity
• Worsen a medical condition you may already have.

Checking for a drug interaction before it occurs can drastically lower your chances of encountering an issue. 

Drugs.com has a super super helpful drug interactions checker that allows you to plug in all the medications you’re taking, and then provides you with drug interactions report based on the information you gave them. Keep this link on hand if you’re planning on taking any new medications in the future! 

Usually, your doctor and pharmacist will have already done this with your prescription medications prior to handing them to you- but it’s a good idea to double check and learn about these medications for your own health and peace of mind. 

CBD Drug Interactions

When CBD is ingested orally at large doses a group of liver enzymes may be temporarily altered. Similarly to grapefruit, CBD is metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes preventing it from metabolizing other compounds.

“The extend to which cannabidiol behaves as a competitive inhibitor of cytochrome P450 depends on how tightly CBD binds to the active site of the metabolic enzyme before and after oxidation. This can change greatly, depending on how – and how much – CBD is administered, the unique attributes of the individual taking this medication, and whether isolated CBD or a whole-plant remedy is used.” – Adrain Devitt-Lee, a researcher at Project CBD.

What does this mean? If you are consuming certain prescriptions and CBD, you should do so under a Dr’s supervision.

Additional research has suggested that consuming CBD may either increase or decrease the breakdown of other drugs, depending on the prescription and dose administered.

The Bottom Line

Adding a new supplement or vitamin to your regimen has always been more complicated than walking into a big-name store like GNC, and reaching for the first thing you find on the shelf (so. many. options.) but now you’ll want to be especially certain you reach for a brand you can trust.

Above all, Rosebud CBD cares about what our customers are putting in their bodies. While we’re passionate about using CBD for increased health and wellness, we’re not medical experts.  

As always, to play it safe, we recommend talking to your doctor about any drugs you are taking before you start taking CBD, whether they are prescription, over-the-counter, herbal, or recreational. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email us at hello@rosebudcbd.com

FDA DISCLOSURE Representations regarding the efficacy and safety of Rosebud CBD have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA only evaluates foods and drugs, not supplements like these products. These products are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease. Click HERE and HERE to find evidence of a test, analysis, research, or study describing the benefits, performance or efficacy of CBD Oil based on the expertise of relevant professionals. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Always check with your physician before starting a new dietary supplement program. The Cannabidiol (CBD) in Rosebud CBD is a natural constituent of industrial hemp plant and grown in the United States of America. Rosebud CBD does not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act (US CSA). All products contain less than 0.3% THC. All products are legal in all 50 states.