Cannabis may backfire for mental health disorders, major study finds
“Though our paper didn’t specifically look at this, the routine use of medicinal cannabis could be doing more harm than good by worsening mental health outcomes — for example, a greater risk of psychotic symptoms and developing cannabis use disorder, and delaying the use of more effective treatments,” he said.
The researchers did note, however, that medicinal cannabis was shown to be beneficial for certain health conditions, such as reducing epileptic seizures, multiple sclerosis symptoms and certain types of pain.
Cannabinoids did not show a significant benefit for anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, PTSD, opioid use disorder or anorexia nervosa. (iStock)
Dr. Thea Gallagher, clinical associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, compared this new research to prior studies that dealt with smaller sample sizes and shorter follow-up periods.
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“Prior work frequently relied on self-reported symptoms or observational data, which can’t establish causation,” Gallagher, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. “Earlier studies often used synthetic cannabinoids or low-THC formulations that don’t reflect today’s real-world products.”
“This new review is the most comprehensive attempt to date to evaluate cannabis specifically for anxiety, depression and PTSD.”
“Natural” does not automatically mean safe or effective, one expert said. (iStock)
Gallagher reiterated that cannabis does have legitimate medical uses, but that mental health conditions “are not necessarily among them at this time.”
“Using cannabis to manage emotional distress may delay access to proven treatments,” she cautioned. “People with a personal or family history of psychosis should be especially cautious.”
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The mental health expert encouraged cannabis users to monitor changes in mood, motivation, sleep, anxiety, concentration and social engagement over time.
“Watch for red flags, such as needing higher doses, using cannabis to cope with stress, increased paranoia or feeling mentally ‘foggy,’” Gallagher advised, adding that people should “check in with trusted friends or family … and take periodic tolerance breaks to see whether cannabis is helping or masking underlying issues.”
People should seek professional support if their mood or functioning begin to decline, she added.
Mental health experts encourage cannabis users to monitor changes in mood, motivation, sleep, anxiety, concentration and social engagement over time. (iStock)
Dr. Jessica Watrous, clinical psychologist and chief clinical officer at Modern Health in California, who was also not involved in the study, said it’s important for people to recognize why they are turning to cannabis to manage mental health symptoms.
“Mental health care in our country can be expensive, hard to navigate and difficult to access … so it’s not necessarily surprising that people are looking for more immediate, easier-to-access ways to manage how they’re feeling,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“But what the authors of the paper call out is that by using a more immediately available, but less evidence-backed intervention, it may delay getting support that does have strong evidence of effectiveness.”
Watrous urges people to prioritize their mental health just as they do their physical health. “You can do this by actively engaging in clinically proven mental health support, whether that’s therapy, coaching, meditation, or just working in small moments of self-care every day.”
“A key takeaway here is that the broad use of medical cannabis as an intervention may be premature given the lack of strong evidence,” one doctor commented. (iStock)
Study limitations
Almost half (44%) of the studies were considered high risk for bias, meaning flaws in how they were designed or reported may make their findings less reliable, the researchers noted.
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The studies also included a mix of product types, doses, durations and patient groups, making the results more difficult to interpret.
“Clinical trial conditions differ from real‑world use, where people often consume higher doses, with more frequency, and sometimes alongside alcohol or nicotine,” Gallagher noted.
Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.
Article source: https://www.foxnews.com/health/cannabis-may-backfire-mental-health-disorders-major-study-finds