OUT ON A LIMB: People Are Using Marijuana to Treat Anxiety and Depression, but the Science Is Murky.

A new study by researchers in Australia involving 23 participants with chronic insomnia found that taking an oil with THC and CBD nightly for two weeks led to improved scores on a measure of insomnia. And an observational study published recently in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry found that people who began using medicinal cannabis reported a reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression. Those who didn’t begin using cannabis saw no change in their symptoms.

Some studies have found that cannabis use among people with anxiety and depression is linked to more severe symptoms. In 2019, the American Psychiatric Association issued a statement declaring that there is “no current scientific evidence that cannabis is in any way beneficial for the treatment of any psychiatric disorder” and noted a “strong association of cannabis use with the onset of psychiatric disorders.”

Psychiatrists also note the danger of developing cannabis use disorder, an addiction that can afflict more than 20% of regular cannabis users, says Smita Das, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chair of the council on addiction psychiatry at the American Psychiatric Association.

“A lot of clients are under the impression that there is an evidence base for what they are doing,” says Dr. Yielding, about his patients who use cannabis for their anxiety. “There isn’t.”

Flashback: Second Thoughts on Pot: “‘Yeah, they all smoke.’ ‘Well . . . other things too, right?’ ‘Sometimes. But they all smoke.’”