Medical Cannabis Associated With Sustained Improvements In Anxiety And Depression

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health conditions that patients suffer from globally. As many as 275 million people suffer from anxiety worldwide, and roughly the same number of people suffer from depression around the world.

For many patients, anxiety and depression go hand in hand, and suffering from the conditions can be debilitating and negatively impact nearly every aspect of daily life.

Fortunately, the cannabis plant may be able to help treat both conditions, as described in a recent news release from NORML:

Calgary, Canada: Patients with symptoms of anxiety and/or depression report sustained improvements following the use of cannabis, according to survey data published in the journal Psychiatry Research.

Canadian investigators surveyed over 7,000 patients authorized to access medical cannabis products. The average age of subjects in the study was 50 years old. All of the study’s subjects belonged to a licensed Canadian medical cannabis clinic.

Authors reported “statistically significant improvements” between subjects’ baseline and follow up scores on validated measurements of anxiety and depression. Symptom improvements were sustained for at least one year.

“To our knowledge, this study is the largest completed to date examining the impact of medical cannabis use on anxiety and depression outcomes utilizing longitudinal data and validated questionnaires,” they concluded. “It provides evidence on the effectiveness of medical cannabis as a treatment for anxiety and depression that otherwise is not currently available, demonstrating that patients who seek treatment with medical cannabis for anxiety and depression can experience clinically significant improvements. This study offers reasonable justification for the completion of large clinical trials to further the understanding of medical cannabis as a treatment for anxiety and depression.”

Full text of the study, “Medical cannabis use in Canada and its impact on anxiety and depression: A retrospective study,” appears in Psychiatric Research.