Just a single dose of cannabis extract can help reduce symptoms of psychosis, new research has found.
Researchers, from King's College London, discovered the symptoms became less severe when psychosis patients were given a 600mg oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD), the Daily Mail reported.
Psychotic symptoms include:
* Hallucinations
* Delusions
* Anxiety
* Insomnia
Unlike the other cannabis component THC, which makes such symptoms far worse, CBD has been found to have the opposite effect.
MRI scans revealed it helps 'readjust brain activity to normal levels', the report revealed.
Study author Dr Sagnik Bhattacharyya told the Daily Mail: "The mainstay of current treatment for people with psychosis are drugs that were first discovered in the 1950s and unfortunately do not work for everyone.
"Our results have started unravelling the brain mechanisms of a new drug that works in a completely different way to traditional anti-psychotics."
Currently, researchers are investigating whether CBD can treat people at risk of developing psychosis. If successful, cannabidiol could one day be used as an antipsychotic treatment.
The findings were originally published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
