# Translating CBD Treatment for Heroin Addiction

> **NIH NIH R01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2021 · $778,144

## Abstract

The abuse and misuse of opioids has led to an epidemic of major proportions that has impacted all
sociodemographic groups in the USA and led to an unfathomable number of deaths each year. Of the millions
of people suffering today from an opioid use disorder, the normal treatments are opioid agonist medication
therapies that have marked stigma and are subject to restrict governmental regulations that unfortunately have
limited the number of people possible to treat. Moreover, although such opioid treatment strategies have
improved substance use outcomes, they do not effectively treat opioid craving that might result in high rates of
relapse. Using a strategy of indirectly regulating neural systems to modulate opioid-related behavior, our
preclinical rodent studies had previously demonstrated that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-rewarding component of
cannabis, specifically inhibited cue-induced heroin-seeking behavior. CBD's selective effect on drug-seeking
behavior endured two or more weeks after the last drug administration following short-term CBD exposure.
Intriguingly, these effects were replicated in a randomized double-blinded human study where abstinent heroin
abusers reported reduced cue-induced drug craving (and anxiety) following acute CBD administration and the
effects persisted even a week after the last administration of the CBD. The fact that drug craving is generally
triggered by exposure to conditioned cues suggests that CBD might be an effective treatment for heroin
craving and related behaviors that maintain the chronic relapsing nature of this disorder. CBD thus represents
a strong candidate for the development as a potential therapeutic agent in humans for opioid craving and
relapse prevention. However, the neurobiological effects of CBD are still unknown. It is the goal of this
translational project to (1) Characterize the effects of CBD on neural connectivity and cue-induced neural
activity within mesocorticolimbic brain circuits in abstinent heroin subjects using systems-level functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), (2) Determine CBD effects on in vivo glutamatergic (and related
neurometabolites) using Proton-Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) and (3) Elucidate glutamatergic
and related synaptic plasticity mechanisms underlying the effects of CBD on heroin seeking behavior in
translational rodent models using MRS, in vivo photometry (neural activity) and molecular and epigenetic
sequencing of discrete brain regions. Altogether, knowledge obtained from this unique translational study will
advance fundamental understanding of the neurobiology underlying phenotypes that drive addiction and
provide science-based evidence towards the development of CBD as a new therapeutic tool to help address
the opioid crisis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10205013
- **Project number:** 5R01DA048613-03
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** YASMIN L. HURD
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $778,144
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10205013

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10205013, Translating CBD Treatment for Heroin Addiction (5R01DA048613-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10205013. Licensed CC0.

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