Role of Cannabis in Treating Anxiety. A study entitled "The Role of Cannabis in Treating Anxiety: An Update" that was published in the journal Mood and Anxiety Disorders explored the potential efficacy of cannabis for anxiety. The researchers observed that cannabis is. being used more and more for medical purposes, including applications intended to treat mental health disorders such as anxiety.
"In this review, we present recent, available evidence from animal models, clinical trials, and survey studies and evaluate the contribution of these studies to the current understanding of the role of cannabis in treating anxiety," reported the study.
The scientists lamented the lack of evidence examining the use of cannabis for mental health disorders. They reported that the common use of marijuana and hemp means that doctors and anxiety patients must better understand how the herb effects anxiety symptoms.
The study concluded that, overall, cannabis offers promise for the treatment of anxiety and that the data it reviewed was "generally positive." Below appears the summary section of this study.
"The literature evaluating the efficacy of cannabis in anxiety disorders is in its infancy. The survey data is generally positive. Although, while some animal studies posit cannabis constituents to have anxiolytic effects, others suggest the opposite or null results.
"Few new clinical trials have been conducted recently, and the extant trials have significant flaws in methodology. Although anecdotal evidence from survey studies, and a small signal found in animal studies and single-dose clinical trials provide early support that cannabis may be effective for alleviating anxiety, ultimately, the current evidence is equivocal. More high-quality clinical trials must be published before sound conclusions regarding the efficacy of cannabis for treating anxiety can be drawn."
Curt Robbins