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Plant-Derived Cannabinoids Effective For Anxiety And PTSD According To Australian Study

Written by Frank Schuler on . Posted in Science.

Anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are two of the most common health conditions found around the globe. International researchers estimate that hundreds of millions of people live with anxiety to some degree every day.

Additionally, hundreds of millions more people around the world suffer from PTSD to some degree, with many PTSD patients also being diagnosed with anxiety. Both conditions on their own can be unbearable, and suffering from both of them at the same time can be debilitating in extreme cases.

More and more anxiety and PTSD patients are turning to the cannabis plant for relief, and according to a recent study in Australia, plant-derived cannabinoids are an effective form of treatment. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Sydney, Australia: Patients diagnosed with anxiety and/or post-traumatic stress respond favorably to medical cannabis treatment, according to observational study data published in the Journal of Pharmacy Technology.

A team of Australian investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of oral cannabinoid formulations (either tinctures or capsules) containing various ratios of THC and CBD in 198 patients with anxiety disorders. The median doses consumed by study participants were 50.0 mg/day for CBD and 4.4 mg/day for THC. (Australian law permits physicians to authorize cannabis products to patients unresponsive to conventional prescription treatments.)

Researchers reported, “The total participant sample reported significantly improved anxiety, depression, fatigue, and ability to take part in social roles and activities.”

Among the subset of subjects diagnosed specifically with post-traumatic stress, cannabis therapy similarly “improved anxiety, depression, fatigue, and social abilities,” with CBD-dominant formulations exhibiting the greatest efficacy.

The most common adverse events experienced by participants were dry mouth, somnolence, and fatigue.

The findings are consistent with those of recent observational studies from the United Kingdom which similarly showed that cannabis therapy was safe and effective for patients with generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

Full text of the study, “The effectiveness and the adverse events of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol used in the treatment of anxiety disorders in a PTSD population: An interim analysis of an observational study,” appears in the Journal of Pharmacy Technology. Additional information on cannabis and post-traumatic stress is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

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Medical Cannabis Associated With Sustained Improvements In Anxiety And Depression

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Science.

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health conditions that patients suffer from globally. As many as 275 million people suffer from anxiety worldwide, and roughly the same number of people suffer from depression around the world.

For many patients, anxiety and depression go hand in hand, and suffering from the conditions can be debilitating and negatively impact nearly every aspect of daily life.

Fortunately, the cannabis plant may be able to help treat both conditions, as described in a recent news release from NORML:

Calgary, Canada: Patients with symptoms of anxiety and/or depression report sustained improvements following the use of cannabis, according to survey data published in the journal Psychiatry Research.

Canadian investigators surveyed over 7,000 patients authorized to access medical cannabis products. The average age of subjects in the study was 50 years old. All of the study’s subjects belonged to a licensed Canadian medical cannabis clinic.

Authors reported “statistically significant improvements” between subjects’ baseline and follow up scores on validated measurements of anxiety and depression. Symptom improvements were sustained for at least one year.

“To our knowledge, this study is the largest completed to date examining the impact of medical cannabis use on anxiety and depression outcomes utilizing longitudinal data and validated questionnaires,” they concluded. “It provides evidence on the effectiveness of medical cannabis as a treatment for anxiety and depression that otherwise is not currently available, demonstrating that patients who seek treatment with medical cannabis for anxiety and depression can experience clinically significant improvements. This study offers reasonable justification for the completion of large clinical trials to further the understanding of medical cannabis as a treatment for anxiety and depression.”

Full text of the study, “Medical cannabis use in Canada and its impact on anxiety and depression: A retrospective study,” appears in Psychiatric Research.