Cannabis, CBD, and Our Attention: What a New Study Shows

A recent study has given us some eye-opening insights into how cannabis—especially THC—affects the way we pay attention to things, particularly cannabis-related cues. The study by Hall et al. (2024) looked at how THC (the part of cannabis that gets you "high"), CBD (the non-psychoactive part), and a combination of both affect our focus on cannabis-related images. The results were pretty interesting: THC made people pay more attention to cannabis cues, while CBD didn’t seem to have much of an impact.

But here’s where I think the study could have done something even more interesting: What if there was a fourth group in the study that only took CBD with no more than 0.3% THC (basically, hemp CBD)? I think this group would have acted very differently.

Why CBD Alone Might Change Things

CBD is often seen as a calming, feel-good compound that doesn't get you high. It’s used in everything from oils to gummies to help with anxiety, pain, and even sleep. Unlike THC, which can make you feel a little "off" or give you a rush, CBD has more of a chill, relaxing effect without any heady buzz.

In the study, the group who took THC (8 mg) seemed to focus more on cannabis-related images, suggesting that THC might increase the brain’s focus on cannabis cues, which can make cravings worse. But CBD, especially hemp-derived CBD with barely any THC in it, probably wouldn’t have that same effect. In fact, people who just took CBD would likely be better at ignoring cannabis-related cues. Since CBD has a calming effect and doesn’t mess with your attention the way THC does, these people might have been able to simply ignore those cannabis-related images rather than get drawn to them.

What Does This Mean for CBD?

I really think the study missed an opportunity to see how hemp-derived CBD (with less than 0.3% THC) would affect people in this context. It’s possible that, if they’d included this group, we would have seen people who didn’t even care about the cannabis cues because CBD helps keep you calm and focused without making you crave more cannabis.

CBD isn’t just a “sidekick” to THC—it has its own effects, and in a lot of ways, it could be a game-changer for people trying to moderate or quit cannabis use. If the study had added a CBD-only group, it might have shown that CBD could actually help reduce cannabis-related attentional bias and make it easier for people to focus on other things.

The Bigger Picture: What This Could Mean for Cannabis Use

This study tells us a lot about how THC affects our brain and attention, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about how CBD works in these situations. Attentional bias (basically, how much we focus on something) is a big deal when it comes to addiction or cravings. So understanding how cannabis affects this could help create better ways to manage cannabis use, especially for people who might be trying to quit or cut back.

If future research looks at how just CBD (with minimal THC) affects attentional bias, it could open up a new way of thinking about CBD as a tool for people who want to move away from cannabis or simply be less focused on it.

In conclusion, while this study gave us some solid insights into how THC affects our attention to cannabis, adding a CBD-only group could have given us even more valuable information. CBD has a lot of potential, and I think it’s time we start looking at it more seriously—not just as a sidekick to THC, but as a potential way to help people manage their cannabis use in a healthier way.

Hall, D., Lawn, W., Ofori, S., Trinci, K., Borissova, A., Mokrysz, C., Petrilli, K., Bloomfield, M. A. P., Wall, M. B., Freeman, T. P., & Curran, H. V. (2024). The acute effects of cannabis, with and without cannabidiol, on attentional bias to cannabis related cues: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. Psychopharmacology, 241(6), 1125–1134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-024-06543-7

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