Medical marijuana was associated with “significant decreases in self-reported anxiety and depression” compared to before patients began treatment with cannabis, according to a new study funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
The observational study, published this month in the Journal of Affective Disorders, looked at 33 adults in Maryland with “clinically significant” anxiety and/or depression over a six-month period, evaluating them at baseline, and then again after one, three and six months from when patients began using medical cannabis.
“Significant decreases from baseline in anxiety and depression were observed, with mean scores dropping below clinically significant levels within three months of initiation,” the study says. Participants also reported sustained reductions in anxiety and/or depression symptoms over the six-month study period.
Most patients chose THC-dominant cannabis products. In addition to self-reported benefits to mental health, they also reported a decline in their perceived driving ability and an increase in feeling high.
“Acute effects were dose-dependent,” authors wrote: “10–15 mg of oral THC and at least 3 puffs of vaporized cannabis yielded the most robust reductions in anxiety and depression.”
Among participants, three-quarters said they had previously used marijuana. Just over a third (37 percent) said they’d used cannabis within the past year.
At the time of the study, medical marijuana was legal in Maryland but the substance remained illegal for nonmedical use.
The six-person team behind the new study represents the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the university’s Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, as well as the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research in Melbourne, Australia.
A conflict of interest section of the report notes that some members have received funding or currently work for companies involved in medical marijuana.
In addition to NIDA funding, the project also received support a pilot grant from the Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp at Thomas Jefferson University.
Authors said that while the findings of the new study were promising, “controlled clinical trials are needed to further investigate the efficacy and safety of medicinal cannabis for acute anxiety and depression symptom management.”
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