Using medical or recreational marijuana to ease symptoms of numerous mental health conditions doesn’t work, according to two new analyses of existing gold-standard research.
Medical marijuana includes products with cannabidiol, or CBD, and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the part of the plant that produces euphoria.
“We found no evidence any form of cannabis is effective in treating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, which are three of the leading reasons for which cannabis is prescribed,” said Jack Wilson, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use.
Wilson is the lead author of one of the studies published Monday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, which analyzed results from 54 randomized controlled trials published between 1980 and 2025.
“The cannabis medications being administered in these studies were largely oral formulations, such as capsules, sprays or oils,” he said. “In real life, people typically use smoked cannabis, and there is even less evidence of its effectiveness for mental health.”
Using marijuana also did not improve other mental health conditions such as anorexianervosa; bipolar disorder; obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD; or psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, Wilson said.
Studies on marijuana are often small and can be difficult to conduct, experts say. Still, the randomized controlled trials that made up the Lancet review are the gold-standard of research, said Dr. Deepak Cyril D’Souza, Vikram Sodhi ’92 Professor of Psychiatry and director of the Yale Center for the Science of Cannabis and Cannabinoids in New Haven, Connecticut.
D’Souza, who was not involved in the Lancet study, is the senior author of a recent JAMA paper that also explored the effectiveness of natural and synthetic forms of CBD and THC on mental health conditions.
“These two papers clearly show there isn’t any evidence to recommend the use of cannabis or cannabis derivatives to treat mental health,” D’Souza said. “Yet almost every state in the US approves medical marijuana for mental health conditions.”
Marijuana doesn’t appear to help many mental health disorders, according to recent studies. Mario Tama/Getty Images
Dangers instead of benefits
While little evidence of benefit exists, the use of medical and recreational marijuana for mental health is growing, experts say. Some 27% of people between the ages of 16 and 65 in the United States and Canada have used marijuana for medical purposes, with “about half using it to manage their mental health,” Wilson said.
“Despite a lack of proof of efficacy, doctors continue to prescribe medical marijuana to treat mental health conditions,” he added. “In addition, the cannabis industry has connections with some of these studies, which is a conflict of interest that may impact the findings.”
Regular use of potent marijuana can be dangerous, experts say, especially to the most vulnerable. Utilizing marijuana during pregnancy, adolescence and young adulthood can interfere with brain development. Heavy use of marijuana by teens and young adults with mood disorders — such as depression and bipolar disorder — is linked to an increased risk of self-harm, suicide attempts and death.
In those individuals at high risk of bipolar or psychotic disorders, such as people with family histories, studies show the use of marijuana raises the risk of developing a psychotic or mental health disorder. Using it after the onset of a mental condition can worsen cognition and the chance of relapse.
“While there may be thousands, perhaps millions, of people who use cannabis sporadically, in very modest amounts and do not experience adverse events, we also know of people who used cannabis a few times and suffered catastrophic adverse events that altered the trajectory of their life forever,” D’Souza said.
“If you are a daily user of high potency cannabis, for example, you may be six times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder than somebody who’s never used cannabis,” he said.
Today’s weed is more powerful and addictive
Contributing to the problem: The amount of THC in today’s marijuana has skyrocketed from approximately 4% in the 1970s to an average of 18% to 20% today, D’Souza said.
“You can now buy cannabis in dispensaries that has a THC content of 35%,” he said. “Marijuana concentrates, which are similar to nicotine concentrates, have a THC content of 80%. That’s about 20 times greater than the THC content of cannabis from the 1960s and ‘70s.”
High potency weed is contributing to a rise in addiction as well. In the United States, about 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have cannabis use disorder, the medical term for marijuana addiction, according to the US Centers for Disease and Prevention.
Cannabis use disorder, also known as marijuana use disorder, is associated with dependence on the use of weed. People are considered dependent on weed when they feel food cravings or have a lack of appetite, irritability, restlessness, and mood and sleep difficulties after quitting, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Where to turn instead of marijuana
There are proven methods to treat mental health concerns, experts say. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, known as SSRIs, are a common pharmaceutical approach for depression and anxiety.
The leading psychotherapy for these conditions is cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, which is often combined with SSRIs. Cognitive behavior therapy is goal-oriented and focuses on changing negative thoughts and behaviors to improve emotional regulation and mood.
The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies has a listing of therapists who are CBT-trained that is searchable by zip code. The American Psychological Association also lists CBT-trained therapists under “treatment methods” in its “Find a Psychologist” tool.
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I beg to differ. I have successfully treated hundreds of persons and many animals for stress and anxiety using cannabis products I manufacture right here in A&B. I have doctors and vet records to prove it. This study is worthless and misguided.
Well of course they will say this now that everybody has access to it. No more money to be made. These people will tell you there is no evidence that anything works except the drugs that their sponsors sell.
It make de rastafarian impotent. Then den turn round and beat dem empress with false accusations of cheating. They turn insecure when their sun don’t rise.
BULLSHIT!!!!!
So Bob Marley’s children aren’t his then? Because he smoke a lot of weed.
i a rastaman with 8 kids and one on the way, 46 years of age, and you are trying your best to fool rasta to believe after i puff my trees, sipping on coconuts in the island breeze, watching bikinis and chilling on the beach, want to tell me my mental health not good and i’m impotent?
is it that am living too well it bothers you?
you never made all these studies on raging alcoholics and many died, not one man died from the high grade yet all after the ppl of power made it synthetic to try kill ppl it still nah work
lol you all trying hard to stop rasta from being happy and watching these lovely ladies pull on my locs when they come off the cruise ship. while u take ur time to write this article, a gyal side me right now on a beach chair
and my anxiety and mental health not good?
wa u fu study is how politicians can make price and then act surprised when things gone up,
why u nah write article on how much gimmicks and bullshit ppl get fed on a daily.
you don’t smoke and you don’t drink but u can’t show a impeccable life that convince ppl that is better than wat they already doing without enforcing the law or making fines for no reason
just bla bla bla bla bla
u live so much better write about that and tell us how life is so much better without grass
all u good for is identifying problems??
wat is ur life sooooooooo not worthy that ppl with issues is your best way to feel good about how u live? poor u
u prolly have money and friends and can travel but still bored as hell
@GanjaPharma – as an #OG who began smoking #Lambs_Breath and #Thai_Stick from the early 1970’s until recently…
A…the synthesized and hybridized flowers which are now being cloned and produced in hundreds of strains, due to the manipulation of the CANNABOIDS and THC levels are like Angel_Dust and low level PCP (shit weed or even oregano laced with embalming fluid), the coca leaves being hybridized to become cocaine and its partner crack, poppy to heroine, methadone, opioids, fentanyl and, this is the type of medicinal cannabis being sold by Big Pharma through their sanctioned dispensaries. Just like cocaine was originally sold by the pharmacist in the LEGAL DRUG STORES, the original name for PHARMACY.
Plus cocaine was once the main ingredient in COCO COLA for decades and sold legally as a soft drink.
This is the route the ORIGINAL FLOWERS from the female hemp plant is taking, as they feed its hybrids to a new set of addicts.
Don’t get me wrong, several of the CANNABOIDS found in the female flowers do connect with those Canbaboid receptors in our bodies for healing purposes but the medicinal cannabis industry is not about extracting these compounds for healing purposes, they are interesting in creating addicts like those to heroine, crack, opioids and even COCA COLA addicts.
Which means it’s all about money, mo money and only money to them.
The dispensaries are the new DRUG STORES, and the BUDTENDERS are like the MD’s writing scripts for opioids (heroine, oxycodone, fentanyl), amphetamines (sedatives), Percocets etc.
Big PHARMA is the overall winner GanjaPharma. Not the youths, not the community’s, not the families because all these are just customers and consumers in their eyes.
Now if we’re talking the entire HEMP INDUSTRY to include the male plant which is vital and useful in food production, oils, lumber, hempcrete, soil rejuvenation, we’re talking the the same language. This is what the government should be promoting for sustainable living.
Jumbee Picknee aka Ras Smood
De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏿Garrate_Bastard
Vere Edwards
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