Survey Finds 22 Percent of CBD Users Have Replaced Pharmaceutical Drugs with CBD

Survey Finds 22 Percent of CBD Users Have Replaced Pharmaceutical Drugs with CBD

A recent Consumer Reports survey found that more than one quarter (26 percent) of Americans have used CBD during the past two years. Of those Americans who have used CBD, 22 percent reported that they have used CBD to replace at least one pharmaceutical drug. Talk with your doctor before using CBD in conjunction with or as a replacement to your prescribed medication.

Nearly half of those who used CBD to replace a medication used CBD in place of an over-the-counter drug, such as Advil or Tylenol. Just behind over-the-counter medications, interestingly, were respondents who indicated that they had replaced a prescription opioid (36 percent) or an anti-anxiety medication (33 percent) with CBD.


Image from Consumer Reports

A 2018 survey from the Brightfield Group reported that 42 percent of cannabis users had ceased using a traditional medication in favor of cannabis, but it’s important to note that number includes users of both THC and CBD.


Image from the BrightField Group and Hello MD study.

Both studies found that consumers primarily use CBD products to help relax and reduce stress or anxiety (36 percent, according to Consumer Reports) and to help with joint pain (24 percent). Consumer Reports noted that millennial-generation CBD users are most likely to use the product to reduce stress, and Baby Boomers tend to use CBD to relieve joint pain.

Indeed, multiple studies have indicated CBD’s therapeutic potential in treating anxiety disorders and inflammation. A New York University School of Medicine study on CBD and anxiety disorders noted that 29 percent of Americans will suffer from an anxiety disorder during their lifetime—the highest prevalence of any mental health disorder in the United States. The authors noted that more information is needed about the effects of long-term CBD use.

Do you use CBD? If so, what do you use if for? Has it replaced a pharmaceutical drug? Let us know in the comments!

Leave a Reply

Close Menu