Sethi Cannabis Clinic
- 3 min read

CBD Oil for Parkinson's Disease. Does CBD oil Help Tremor? Dr. Jagmeet Sethi MD

I did a blog on this because a lot of patients come in with Parkinson's and wonder if cannabis will help them I know there's a lot of stuff on the internet about Parkinson's, and cannabis is a big topic on Parkinson's population has been a big advocate of cannabis use and there's a lot of stories out there where it's helped quite a bit so I'm going to share my experience over the last 7 years CBD Oil in Parkinson's Disease and it may be different from what's out there. Research and data are still limited in cannabis, and all we have is real-world experience.

Watch the YouTube video below;

CBD Oil for Tremor and Parkinson's Disease?

The most common reason people ask for CBD oil is to be able to manage their tremor better with Parkinson's.

Remember, CBD oil is the not-intoxicating part of cannabis. CBD reduces inflammation, muscle spasms and anxiety. I would say the majority of Parkinson's patients do not get benefits from CBD oil for their Tremors, which is unfortunate, and I am truly sorry because I had great hopes 7 years ago that this would be a big help to reduce tremors. But I want to add this to this piece when I say it doesn't always help with the Tremor, it helps with the Tremor if the Tremor gets worse with anxiety, so most Tremors, whether it's a benign Tremor or Parkinson's tremor, they'll get worse as a patient gets more anxious the Tremor gets worse. CBD decreases anxiety and indirectly reduces the Tremor, so in those patients, there is some benefit from CBD by reducing the anxiety and reducing the tremor. However, if a patient is not suffering from any anxiety at all, then the tremor part doesn't seem to be impacted. There are a minority of patients where the Tremor does improve, so I'm not discounting that it does. It is worth trying CBD oil to see if it helps. CBD usually is pretty well tolerated, but the risks are fairly low with CBD oil.

Does CBD Oil Help Muscle Stiffness in Parkinson's Disease?

The second reason people explore CBD oil for Parkinson's is for relief from muscle stiffness. CBD reduces muscle stiffness, and here, Parkinson's patients get a lot of benefit because their mobility is better.

CBD oil and anxiety in Parkinson's Disease?

The third reason to explore CBD seems to be relief from anxiety in Parkinson's disease. CBD oil reduces anxiety, so patients' moods improve, they eat better, and their appetite improves. Most of the time, when patients come back, even if the tremor isn't better or because their anxiety is better, their muscle stiffness is better. Mobility improves, and their mood and appetite improve, so they continue taking CBD oil for those reasons.

THC and Parkinson's Disease?

Some people, of course, however, don't get any benefit. There is individual variability in response to CBD oil. I'm not a proponent of giving THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) to patients with Parkinson's. THC the psychoactive part of cannabis can cause cause you to be dizzy and increase risk of falls and already Parkinson's patients a little unsteady and to introduce THC and this mix is not a good idea. THC can also impair memory, and memory and cognition are very important in this population. Even for sleep, I don't recommend THC in this population, but there are always exceptions. Some small portion of patients who tolerate THC require a doctor's supervision.