Nicoletta Lanese reports in LiveScience,
People may smoke weed to "mellow out," but experts say medicinal cannabis and its chemical relatives don’t effectively relieve mental health disorders like depression or anxiety. The evidence just isn't there.Read more here.
That's according to the most comprehensive analysis of medical cannabinoids and mental health to date.
...The research included about 3,000 people and focused on six mental health disorders: depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychosis.
...THC failed to meaningfully improve the major symptoms of any of the six disorders, and many patients on the drug experienced more adverse effects and withdrawal symptoms compared with those who took a placebo.
In addition, research suggests that repeated or heavy cannabis use can permanently disrupt the body's natural "endocannabinoid system," which produces chemicals that bind to the same receptors as cannabinoids do, though how this disruption affects people with different mental health disorders remains under investigation. Anecdotally, the drugs appear to have a "paradoxical effect" where they help people feel better in the short term, but worsen their symptoms over time, Krakower said. For example, recent research suggests that cannabis may reduce ratings of stress, depression, and anxiety, at first, but chronic use may worsen depressive symptoms over time.
In short, the experts agree: medicinal cannabinoids should be subjected to the same rigorous scrutiny of every other psychiatric medication.
In the future, Krakower hopes that both the public and health care providers stay informed about the actual science of cannabinoid use and make decisions based on solid data, rather than hearsay.
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