A study published in the journal Nature found an association between the consumption of legal medical cannabis products and significant decreases in patients’ daily anxiety levels.
Researchers affiliated with Florida Gulf Coast University assessed cannabis’ efficacy in a cohort of 416 patients with a diagnosis of anxiety and registered in the Florida Medical Marijuana Use Registry. The research team evaluated the participants’ anxiety levels to determine a baseline and then monitored daily changes in anxiety levels for 45 days. The research team also collected data on demographic information, the frequency of medical cannabis use, consumption of other substances (e.g., alcohol, anxiolytic medication), other activities (e.g., exercise, meditation), patterns of previous MC use, and history of anxiety. On some days, the participants consumed medical cannabis products while they engaged in meditation or other therapeutic practices to ease their anxiety.
The researchers used linear mixed-effects modeling to determine that medical cannabis use correlated with the largest anxiety relief across the 45-day period. When participants only used other substances or engaged in mental or physical activities on certain days, they also experienced lower anxiety. However, medical cannabis was the major factor in any shift in anxiety when comparing different groups to one another.
The participants reported the greatest improvement in their anxiety on the days they consumed medical cannabis. The study did not find any significant differences among the various routes of administration, including edibles, flower, and vapes.
Sensitivity analyses revealed that novice and experienced medical cannabis patients had similar anxiety reductions, but novice patients had slightly better relief outcomes than experienced patients across the 45 days. Although medical cannabis can reduce anxiety levels for many patients, some cannabis users can experience anxiogenic effects and should use more conservative doses.
