Mastodawn

Huge study finds no evidence cannabis helps anxiety, depression, or PTSD

https://lemmy.zip/post/61166444

Huge study finds no evidence cannabis helps anxiety, depression, or PTSD - Lemmy.zip

> The largest review of medicinal cannabis to date found it doesn’t effectively treat anxiety, depression, or PTSD—despite millions using it for those reasons. Researchers warn it could even make mental health worse, raising risks like psychosis and addiction while delaying proven treatments. Some limited benefits were seen for conditions like insomnia and autism, but the evidence is weak. The findings are fueling calls for stricter oversight as cannabis use continues to rise. Study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(26)00015-5/fulltext [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(26)00015-5/fulltext] Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260319044656.htm [https://archive.is/newest/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260319044656.htm] — Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

MantisToboggon 1d ago

It doesn’t fix anything, you just don’t care as much.

TrackinDaKraken 1d ago

Right, this does depend on the criteria for successful treatment.

No one questions that pain killers are an effective treatment for pain, though they do nothing to cure the cause of the pain.

bearboiblake 1d ago

Depends on the painkiller, tbf, I think there’s a Cochrane review that finds no evidence to support that paracetamol/acetaminophen is an effective medication for most types of pain, if I remember correctly.

What I’ve seen is that Tylenol is moderately good for fever and headaches, but not for injuries, joints, cuts and abrasions, etc. For those you want an anti-inflammatory, like naproxen or Ibuprofen.

MinnesotaGoddam 1d ago

Thank you. I still have some MDs who rely on that outdated study and try to convince me that I should chew willow bark

some_kind_of_guy 22h ago

That’s just aspirin with extra steps

UnderpantsWeevil 1d ago

“Huge study reveals ibuprofen doesn’t eliminate pain, just the sensation of it”

Oh okay, I guess I should stop using it then?

“Well, maybe… We need to do another huge study to confirm”

This time, with dabs.

bearboiblake 1d ago

Weed helped me not kill myself while going through a mental breakdown with the most severe traumatic flashbacks and dissociative episodes I have ever experienced in my life. I wipe my ass with this study.

fiat_lux 1d ago

It’s not the study that’s the problem here, the study clearly examined it “as the primary treatment”. This is a common science media failure, they’ve conflated “primary treatment” with “helps”, and that is not the same thing at all.

Crutches aren’t the “primary treatment” for a broken leg either, but they do assist recovery by allowing someone to not use the broken leg. I’d suggest cannabis plays a similar role, it gives people the distance from the pain that they need for actual recovery, which sounds like it could describe your experience.

CaptainSpaceman 1d ago

Cannabis is sychoactive and allows for deeper introspection to anyone attempting to reconcile their mental health.

It may not be a panacea, but it is very much a great tool in the arsenal of mental health.

The_Almighty_Walrus 23h ago

Same, if it wasn’t for weed I probably would have punched my own ticket years ago. I’ve been off it for a few months studying for a drug test and yaboi needs a bong rip.

Was cannabis ever a serious contender for these issues? I always considered a painkiller and against loss of appetite, but nothing psychological.

delaying proven treatments

Good luck getting treatment for depression here in a timely fashion, I think with the latest changes, people need to wait about a year for an appointment. Situation is bleak, can’t blame anyone getting a bit of relief

MinnesotaGoddam 1d ago

It helps for gastro stuff (I haven’t paid too much attention to which, just I’m the patient they use to point to as “look! Use it for gastro” and cannabis treats all my gastro diseases). Its about time for my five year check in with the lady who does the cannabis CPE so we’ll have plenty to talk about if you want me to ask, just give me like six months to both visit and gather research.

Tar_Alcaran 1d ago

Was cannabis ever a serious contender for these issues?

Honestly, that doesn’t really matter. You can test unlikely contenders too, especially in a desk study that doesn’t have any ethics problems.

What I meant to ask was if anyone is surprised by the results of the study, not if it should have been conducted in the first place.

apotheotic (she/her)1d ago

I think the point is that if it is the treatment given to you by your doctor without it being a stopgap, then that is delaying proven treatments. If you use it as a stopgap then that’s beside the point

And might I ask who is funding this study and how are they being paid for by big pharma?

Declaration of interests

WH and MG have received consultation fees from WHO. WH has received payment for expert testimony on the risks of cannabis use. MG is an appropriate member of the Medicinal Cannabis Expert Working Group, Australian Department of Health, Ageing and Disability. MG has received funding from the Therapeutic Goods Administration for independent evidence reviews on medicinal cannabis. All other authors declare no competing interests.

Acknowledgments

JW and ES are supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) investigator grant awarded to ES (GNT2017346). MG is supported by a NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship (GNT2030765) and Monash Graduate Research Excellence Scholarship. JL, MT, and GC are supported by NHMRC investigator grants. TPF was funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (MR/Y017560/1).

UnderpantsWeevil 1d ago

Plenty of Big Pharma money in producing and distributing cannibas in various forms. We’ve seen thousands of patents filed since legalization began in earnest in 2015

The author of the study addresses it. He mentions that a lot of studies fail to disclose funding or have a risk of bias based on funding.

GreenBeanMachine 22h ago

That trail will be well hidden.

I have no doubt about them funding this, not that it will be traceable in any way. They’re not that dumb

dohpaz42 1d ago

Well, speaking for myself, it most certainly helps with my anxiety and depression. So they can stuff it for all I care.

I mean this is obviously anecdotal, but it helped me tremendously through some of the worst trauma I have ever encountered. I don’t really give a shit what any study says.

HubertManne 1d ago

I swear not to long ago I saw the opposite conclusion to some studies on mental illness and drugs.

The study pretty much draws no conclusion other than “more research needed”

turdburglar 1d ago

well, that’s just like, their opinion, man.

real_squids 1d ago

MinnesotaGoddam 1d ago

And didn’t pass peer review

Noodles4dinner [none/use any]1d ago

They were probably doing it wrong

Kalothar 1d ago

Here’s the findings and interpretations from the paper

Findings

54 trials were identified for inclusion (2477 participants; 1713 [69%] males, 764 [31%] females; median age 33·3 years [IQR 28·1–38·05; ethnicity data not available). 24 (44%) of these trials had a high risk of bias, and the certainty of evidence for most outcomes was low. Our meta-analysis revealed that a combination of cannabidiol and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol reduced cannabis withdrawal symptoms (SMD –0·29, 95% CI –0·57 to –0·02) and weekly grams of cannabis use (–1·00, –1·69 to –0·30) among those with cannabis use disorder, and a reduction in tic severity among those with tic or Tourette’s Syndrome (–0·68, –1·03 to –0·34) compared with placebo. Any cannabinoid type led to an increase in sleep time as recorded by an electronic device (0·54, 0·14 to 0·95) and sleep diary (0·55, 0·01 to 1·09) among those with insomnia. There was a reduction in autistic traits (–0·36, –0·66 to –0·07) among those with autism spectrum disorder. Cannabinoids led to an increase in cocaine craving among those with cocaine use disorder (0·69, 0·22 to 1·15) compared with placebo. There were no significant effects on outcomes associated with anxiety, anorexia nervosa, psychotic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and opioid use disorder. There were insufficient data to meta-analyse studies of ADHD, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and tobacco use disorder. There was an absence of RCT evidence for the treatment of depression. Meta-analysis revealed higher odds of all-cause adverse events (OR 1·75, 95% CI 1·25 to 2·46) among those using cannabis versus control group (NNTH=7) but no higher odds of serious adverse events or study withdrawal.

Interpretation

There was some evidence that cannabinoids can reduce symptoms of cannabis use disorder, insomnia, tic or Tourette’s syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder, but the quality of this evidence was generally low. Cannabinoids were associated with a greater risk of any adverse events but not of serious adverse events. Overall, there is a crucial need for more high-quality research. Given the scarcity of evidence, the routine use of cannabinoids for the treatment of mental disorders and SUDs is currently rarely justified.

rants_unnecessarily 1d ago

Overall, there is a crucial need for more high-quality research. Given the scarcity of evidence, the routine use of cannabinoids for the treatment of mental disorders and SUDs is currently rarely justified.

I think this is the main conclusion here.

Yeah, even the ones where an effect was found have a very low GRADE score (framework for assessing whether conclusions of studies should be used as guidelines) that is affected by risk of biases, directness of evidence, consistency and publication bias.

GnomeGodsGnomeMasters [none/use name]1d ago

I’m just talking out my neck here, but as I recall from previous research I read like 10-20 years ago, it seemed that cannabis, for some, helped relieve acute symptoms in the moments after symptom onset, but I don’t think cannabis had any effect on overall anxiety long term.

Also cannabis — like literally ANY DRUG — literally fucks with your brain chemistry so uhhhhh an abundance of caution is necessary and one should really try to avoid using any mind-altering substances until their brain is done cookin’ sometime between 25-30.

Also, the causal relationship to psychotic disorders is fairly well documented at this point. Again, exercise caution if possible.

This should in no way be taken as reason to continue with cannabis prohibition, because prohibition is the devil.

ryannathans 1d ago

There were six studies included on anxiety with a total participant count of ~350… What a pathetic attempt of a review

Only 123 participants for PTSD and ONE study included

Tar_Alcaran 1d ago

This search led to 634 results, of which 16 were relevant reviews where the mental disorder or SUD was the primary indication that cannabinoids were used to treat. Of these, few reviews included all mental disorders and SUDs (n=6), conducted a meta-analysis (n=4), or thoroughly evaluated the quality of evidence (n=2).

The data is shit. That’s not their fault and it’s mentioned on page 1 of the paper.

ryannathans 1d ago

It is their fault when they literally draw the conclusion cannabis does nothing for these conditions when they don’t have the data required to make that conclusion

Tar_Alcaran 1d ago

when they literally draw the conclusion cannabis does nothing for these conditions

No, they don’t do that.

They say that based on the available data, cannabis is not shown to be effective as an only form of treatment, and recommend more studies be done because the vast majority of the studies that exist are very poor.

The reporting on the paper is not the paper.

ryannathans 1d ago

There were no significant effects on outcomes associated with anxiety, anorexia nervosa, psychotic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and opioid use disorder. There were insufficient data to meta-analyse studies of ADHD, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and tobacco use disorder.

They claim no significant effects for anxiety and PTSD when they could have said there was insufficient data. It’s misleading. They DO do that.

No significant effect means no statistically significant effect here. The authors never claim an effect doesn’t exist.

This is how meta analyses work:
you look at available research, aggregate over it, draw conclusions. It is not unusual that such meta studies even point out that more research is needed.

Randomgal 1d ago

The issue is this is bit a HUGE meta study. The results are being presented disingenuously.

Yeah, doesn’t get as many clicks as “medium-small” meta study does it.

ryannathans 1d ago

Then it needs to say more research needed instead of making the misleading claim there’s no effect

There were no significant effects on outcomes associated with anxiety, anorexia nervosa, psychotic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and opioid use disorder. There were insufficient data to meta-analyse studies of ADHD, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and tobacco use disorder.

No significant effect does not mean no effect, very crucial difference. It means that the effect wasn’t statistically significant, i.e. <5% chance of being random.

rosco385 1d ago

I don’t think weed helps my anxiety, but it does help with the side effects of the anti-anxiety medication.

TacoButtPlug 1d ago

there arw studies that thc inhibits anti-depressants. ask how i found out… :(

Iconoclast 1d ago

I was about to come tell how that has not been my experience at all but then I realized I read the headline wrong.

rants_unnecessarily 1d ago

It’s not a “cure” medicine, it’s a “relief” medicine.
Like painkillers.

They don’t heal, they help lessen the negative effect of the illness to help while healing.

Yes, that’s exactly what the study says. That’s there’s nothing indicating this “relief” (= lessen symptoms) is given by cannabis. They’re not even talking about a cure, so not sure why you’re even bringing this up.

BarneyPiccolo 13h ago

Because no matter what this study concludes, far too many people know for absolutely certain that conclusion isn’t true, based on the simple fact that their personal experience contradicts it.

mountainbear49 1d ago

Fascists have been robbing people at gunpoint in their own homes with approval from a serial killing billionaire monopolist state and that article talks about pseudoscience, non-verifiable, self-report based terms like feelings of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Facts have shown that POVERTY causes anxiety, depression, and PTSD. POLICE STATE ARMED ROBBERIES CAUSE ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND PTSD. They’re more likely to happen to people on the antagonist side of the MERCK, PFIZER, GSK MONOPOLY DRUG CARTEL. That is a fact about cannabis possession, cultivation, usage, and sale. Another relevant fact about this study would be the shadow network of BIG PHARMA serial killers with residence addresses somewhere near readers of that article and bank accounts in 0-tax jurisdictions of the likes of Panama, Luxembourg, etc. that funded putting that pile of feces into a format that looks like a scientific article. In the meantime, those unethical bastards have been selling drugs of the likes of opioids, benzodiazepines, etc. from inside hospitals near the readers of that article, drugs that have killed tens of thousands if not millions of humans per year.

P.S. That article totally omits to even acknowledge the variety of types of cannabis with widely different molecular composition profiles.

P.P.S. That article also omits to acknowledge that fact that research on cannabis consumption therapy has been happening outside the fascist states of the american-european colonial (and racist) empire and their ‘universities’ (sites of propaganda) because of a little thing called a decades-long illegal criminalization of the non-violent behavior of personal choice of consumption of a plant flower with numerous therapy applications growable with a small budget in approximately any house.

locahosr443 1d ago

My experience was that weed made me accept not dealing with anything. It often made stuff worse but also allowed me to just accept that. It wasn’t fun and any claims of self medication was just an excuse not to stop.

After I did stop for a few years and actually dealt with my shit, I can now use weed guilt free. Now it’s actually nice when I use it because I’m not using it to lie to myself.

Most my stoner friends back then we’re like my pre healthier self too. That’s the problem with weed imo

To be fair, the population of this meta analysis is severely underpowered to assess whether there is an effect for rare/semi-rare conditions. (population is couple of hundred in most areas) and it shows in the confidence intervals.

A better title would be “Study unable to determine if cannabis helps or hurts anxiety, depression, or PTSD because of lack of data” which sounds less glamorous.

Legendz662 23h ago

Here we go with them trying to keep the lies going & sadly a lot will fall for this again

GreenBeanMachine 22h ago

FUCK YOUR PATHETIC PROPAGANDA!

LainTrain 20h ago

Yeah some people need to hear this but just cuz it grows out of earth don’t make it medicine.

Weed just ups your heart rate, makes you hungry and eventually makes you kinda sleepy when it wears off. It doesn’t help with much of anything except draining your wallet and time into getting lung cancer.

Now real drugs might help, from SSRIs to Benzos to Amphetamines, a dash of Nicotine, maybe even psychedelic therapy with the HT2A receptor classical psychs class. That’s real medicine.

Weed is the opium of the masses.

etherphon 18h ago

Well this study doesn’t mention psychic pain or spiritual warfare so it’s clearly hogwash.

nutsack 18h ago

smoke a weed, feel euphoria for 10 minutes, then crippling anxiety for 4 hours

worst drug ever thanks

As soon as I started an effective dose of Prozac my high anxiety went away, in both senses of ‘high’ (weed high and a lot of anxiety).