Using medical marijuana to treat pain, anxiety and depression failed to improve these symptoms while doubling the risk of developing cannabis use disorder, a new study found.
The study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, followed 269 adults from the Boston area with an average age of 37 who wanted to obtain medical marijuana cards.
Because the researchers could not create “placebo” cannabis, participants were divided into two groups: one was allowed to get cards immediately and start using them; the other group waited for 12 weeks before obtaining them.
No improvement of pain, depression or anxiety
The study found that obtaining a medical marijuana card and using cannabis products with the required medical oversight to treat pain, anxiety or depressive symptoms did not significantly improve these problems.
Instead, the obtention of a medical marijuana card significantly increased people’s risk of developing cannabis use disorder – which health authorities typically define as a person’s inability to stop using marijuana even though it’s causing health and social problems in their life.
The odds of developing this disorder were almost three times higher in the group that immediately obtained a medical marijuana card than in the group that got one 12 weeks later.
Those who got cards right away saw “no significant changes in pain severity or anxiety or depressive symptoms,” the study found.
However, they…
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Using medical marijuana to treat pain, anxiety and depression failed to improve these symptoms while doubling the risk of developing cannabis use disorder, a new study found.
The study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, followed 269 adults from the Boston area with an average age of 37 who wanted to obtain medical marijuana cards.
Because the researchers could not create “placebo” cannabis, participants were divided into two groups: one was allowed to get cards immediately and start using them; the other group waited for 12 weeks before obtaining them.
No improvement of pain, depression or anxiety
The study found that obtaining a medical marijuana card and using cannabis products with the required medical oversight to treat pain, anxiety or depressive symptoms did not significantly improve these problems.
Instead, the obtention of a medical marijuana card significantly increased people’s risk of developing cannabis use disorder – which health authorities typically define as a person’s inability to stop using marijuana even though it’s causing health and social problems in their life.
The odds of developing this disorder were almost three times higher in the group that immediately obtained a medical marijuana card than in the group that got one 12 weeks later.
Those who got cards right away saw “no significant changes in pain severity or anxiety or depressive symptoms,” the study found.
However, they…
