A four-week University of Colorado study of cannabis users suffering from anxiety found that they reported reductions in anxiety over the study period that were comparable to reductions experienced by nonusers. The study compared the effects of three types of legal market cannabis: THC-dominant, CBD-dominant, and a type containing equal amounts of CBD and THC.
Results indicated that all groups showed a reduction in anxiety symptoms after the four-week study period. The cannabis user groups had the highest levels of THC and CBD at the end of the study, corresponding to the type of cannabis product they were using.
The cannabis use groups showed an increase in positive mood during the study period compared to the nonuser group. The group using CBD-dominant cannabis showed a reduction in psychological tension compared to the other two cannabis user groups.
“Findings suggest that THC did not increase anxiety and that CBD-dominant forms of cannabis were associated with acute tension reduction that may translate to longer-term reductions in anxiety symptoms,” study authors concluded.
