THC-Dominant Cannabis Effective in Treating Anxiety and Depression
/By Pat Anson
As many pain sufferers already know, anxiety and depression are common when you live with poorly treated chronic pain.
A recent study found that 40% of adults with chronic pain have clinical symptoms of depression or anxiety. Pain sufferers with fibromyalgia are particularly vulnerable to emotional stress, along with those who are younger and female.
New research suggests that medical cannabis could be an alternative to antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax. The small observational study, recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, found that adults with and without pain experienced significant and sustained relief from anxiety and depression after they started using medicinal cannabis.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and La Trobe University followed 33 volunteers in Maryland over a six-month period. Participants completed assessments of their anxiety and depression at the start of treatment, and at one, three, and six months after beginning cannabis use.
Most participants selected cannabis products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, and experienced clinically significant reductions in anxiety and depression within three months. Acute or immediate relief was dose-dependent, with participants who ingested 10–15 mg of oral THC or at least 3 puffs of vaporized cannabis reporting the most relief from anxiety and depression.
There are some caveats about using higher doses. Participants reported feeling “high” using THC-dominant cannabis, and some were so impaired it affected their driving abilities. But overall, the results were positive.
“Initiation of THC-dominant medicinal cannabis was associated with acute reductions in anxiety and depression, and sustained reductions in overall symptom severity over a 6-month period. Controlled clinical trials are needed to further investigate the efficacy and safety of medicinal cannabis for acute anxiety and depression symptom management,” researchers reported.
Previous studies have also suggested that medical cannabis is most effective when it also contains THC. In a 2019 analysis of self-reported health data from over 3,300 cannabis users, researchers reported that THC was more effective than cannabidiol (CBD) alone in treating chronic pain, insomnia and other medical conditions. Cannabis products containing higher doses of THC provided the most relief.
Another small study conducted in Israel found that “microdosing” small amounts of THC significantly reduced pain levels in patients suffering from neuropathy, and without the risks of impairment and other cognitive issues.
