Craving and drinking are separate endpoints. A person may report less urge to drink while consuming a similar number of drinks on the days they drink. An eight-week randomized pilot study tested these outcomes separately.
What the pilot compared
Researchers randomized 44 participants with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder to full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum CBD or placebo. The full-spectrum arm showed a reduction in craving, but the authors reported no reduction in drinks per drinking day. The groups were small, and the study also assessed feasibility and tolerability.
How to read the result in a monitoring context
A reported reduction in craving does not document abstinence or establish a reduction in drinking intensity. When a report uses the phrase improved alcohol outcomes, identify whether the evidence concerns symptoms, drinking frequency, quantity or an objective measure. The formulations also differed, so the pilot cannot isolate the effect of a single constituent.
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