CBD shown to ease anxiety without the risks that can come with THC – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Study Finds CBD-Rich Cannabis Products Ease Anxiety Better Than THC-Dominant Ones.

Cannabis products high in the nonintoxicating compound CBD can quell anxiety better than THC-dominant products— and without the potential side effects, new University of Colorado Boulder research suggests. 

The study of 300 people, published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, is the first randomized trial to examine how legal, commercially available cannabis impacts anxiety symptoms.

The study comes as one in five U.S. adults suffer from an anxiety disorder, making it the most common mental illness in the country, and prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications are on the rise. 

“We need more data before we can say conclusively that there are long-term, beneficial effects, but the short-term effects were very clear: CBD was associated with tension and anxiety relief with limited harm,” said senior author Cinnamon Bidwell, associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute of Cognitive Science.

A first-ever trial

Adults rank anxiety among the top three medical reasons (along with sleep and pain) for turning to cannabis, a.k.a. marijuana, for relief. Yet research on whether it works has been mixed. 

Some studies have suggested that using cannabis too frequently or using potent products high in the intoxicating cannabinoid THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) can actually worsen anxiety long-term. Others have shown that adding CBD to…