In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at Washington State University examined how people’s self-reported levels of stress, anxiety and depression were affected by smoking different amounts and strains of cannabis at home.
The study, published in the most recent version of the Journal of Affective Disorders, found that smoking marijuana can significantly reduce levels of depression, anxiety and stress in the short term, but they also believe it may contribute to worse overall feelings of depression in the long term.
“Existing research on the effects of cannabis on depression, anxiety and stress are very rare and have almost exclusively been done with orally administered THC pills in a laboratory,” said Carrie Cuttler, clinical assistant professor of psychology at WSU and lead author of the study. “What is unique about our study is that we looked at actual inhaled cannabis by medical marijuana patients who were using it in the comfort of their own homes as opposed to a laboratory.”
Medical Marijuana and Stress
For the study, researchers tracked the varying concentrations of the chemical compounds tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in different strains of medical marijuana. Patients smoked set amounts of different strains and self-reported feelings of stress, anxiety and depression twenty minutes after smoking. The study was conducted from the comfort of the participants’ home in hopes of mitigating any stress that may come with being in a lab setting. Here’s what else the study found:
- One puff of cannabis that was high in CBD and low in THC was optimal for reducing levels of depression.
- Two puffs of any type of cannabis was sufficient to reduce symptoms of anxiety.
- 10 or more puffs of cannabis high in CBD and high in THC produced the largest reduction in stress.
- Women reported a significantly greater reduction in anxiety following cannabis use.
Researchers say their findings help to shine a light on the importance of monitoring both CBD and THC levels.
“A lot of consumers seem to be under the false assumption that more THC is always better,” Cuttler said. “Our study shows that CBD is also a very important ingredient in cannabis and may augment some of the positive effects of THC.”
Cutter and colleagues used a multilevel modeling system to analyze more the different strains and the reported levels of anxiety and stress.
“This is to my knowledge one of the first scientific studies to provide guidance on the strains and quantities of cannabis people should be seeking out for reducing stress, anxiety and depression,” Cuttler said. “Currently, medical and recreational cannabis users rely on the advice of bud tenders whose recommendations are based off of anecdotal not scientific evidence.”
This is fascinating research, and any study that improves our knowledge of treatment modalities and can better help patients manage their physical or mental conditions is wonderful. WSU has more cannabis studies planned in the future, and hopefully they’ll continue to better our understanding of the effects of the substance in individual patients.