CBD and blood thinner medication. Why so important?

CBD and Blood Thinning Medication

The reason not to use pure CBD oil with blood thinners has nothing to do with the fact that it “thins your blood”. It has to do with the fact that CBD is a potent inhibitor of the liver enzyme that metabolizes blood thinners (and some other medications). The enzyme is called CYP3A4. When this enzyme is inhibited, more of the drug can enter your systemic bloodstream than normal.

What normally happens?

Normally, you swallow a drug, it passes through your stomach and into your small intestine. Then it enters your bloodstream and passes through your liver. Enzymes in the liver break down the drug. With most drugs, most of the dose is destroyed, which is called the first-pass effect.

What happens with CBD?

When you have enough pure CBD oil in your system, it binds to the end of the enzyme protein chain known as the catalytic or active site. (This is only temporary, meaning only for a few hours after ingesting CBD, but should still be taken with caution).

If the pure CBD oil is bound to the enzymes at this point, they will not be able to bind to the molecules of the drug as they travel through your liver. So instead of much of the drug being broken down, it enters your systemic bloodstream unchanged.

What are the consequences?

This can lead to an overdose of the drug. With something like warfarin or other blood thinners, this could lead to uncontrolled bleeding near your heart, in your eye, in your brain, in your abdomen, or in your spine. This is not something to be taken lightly.

Theoretically, you could mix the two, but it would have to become WITH THE STRICT KNOW, CONSENT, AND SURVEILLANCE OF A DOCTOR. Don’t stick to the guidelines of “Oh yeah, I mix CBD and this drug and I’m fine.” That could literally kill you.

So make sure you inform your GP that you want to start taking CBD oil and that your blood needs to be checked regularly.