Philadelphia, PA: Patients with anxiety disorders experience symptom improvements and many of them reduce their intake of prescription anti-anxiety medications following the use of medical cannabis, according to observational data published in the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports.
Researchers affiliated with the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine assessed outcomes in a cohort of nearly 100 patients with either anxiety-related disorders or post-traumatic stress. All of the study’s participants had recently obtained a recommendation from a physician to participate in the state’s medical cannabis access program. Investigators assessed participants’ symptoms at baseline and again after three months.
Consistent with other studies, patients displayed significant reductions in generalized anxiety over the course of the trial. Among those individuals who were prescribed anxiety medications, 32 percent reported decreasing their use of anxiolytic drugs by month three. Reductions in patients’ prescription drug use was most frequently reported among those prescribed benzodiazepines.
The study’s findings are similar to those of numerous others reporting patients’ decreased use of prescription medications, including opioids, anxiolytics, and sleep aids, following their use of medical marijuana products.
“Overall, findings from this observational study are consistent with those observed in the literature and [they] provide additional preliminary evidence to support the use of MM [medical marijuana] to address anxiety and PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder],” authors concluded.
Full text of the study, “Anxiety severity and prescription medication utilization in first-time marijuana users,” appears in the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. Additional information on cannabis and post-traumatic stress is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.