University of Arkansas for Medical Science Studies Connection of Chronic CBD Use and Liver Cancer

A new study, published in the Journal Molecules, takes a look at the connection between chronic CBD use among mice and liver cancer. The study, conducted by the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is titled Hepatotoxicity of a Cannabidiol-Rich Cannabis Extract in the Mouse Model.

According to the study, it’s goal was to investigate

“Cannabidiol (CBD) hepatotoxicity in 8-week-old male B6C3F1 mice. Animals were gavaged with either 0, 246, 738, or 2460 mg/kg of CBD (acute toxicity, 24 h) or with daily doses of 0, 61.5, 184.5, or 615 mg/kg for 10 days (sub-acute toxicity). These doses were the allometrically scaled mouse equivalent doses (MED) of the maximum recommended human maintenance dose of CBD in EPIDIOLEX® (20 mg/kg).”

Even though this trial was conducted on mice, it appears that even in human studies concerning Epidiolex, potential liver damage was an issue.

Igor Koturbash, PhD, who is a lead author of the study, shared with Nutra Ingredients USA, that even GW Pharma’s Epidiolex’s packaging indicates that there is a risk of liver damage. He shared,

“If you look at the Epidolex label, it clearly states a warning for liver injury. It states you have to monitor the liver enzyme levels of the patients. In clinical trials, 5% to 20% of the patients developed elevated liver enzymes and some patients were withdrawn from the trials.”