Novel New Study Confirms CBD’s Effect on Anxiety

A recently published study from a team of researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder, tested the effects of CBD and THC-rich cannabis to see how different combinations impacted tension and anxiety in the study participants. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the U.S. and affects over 40 million adults, or 19.1% of the population. In other words, anxiety is a very significant health issue.

While the study used “legal cannabis” … think marijuana… its application to hemp-derived CBD and THC is unquestionable. The team recruited some 300 study participants and divided them in 4 groups:

•  THC-dominant strain, with 24 percent THC and less than 1 percent CBD
• Strain with THC and CBD in equal parts (12 percent)
• CBD-dominant strain, with less than 1 percent THC, and 24 percent CBD
• No marijuana used for the study (baseline or “placebo” group)

While all study participants reported some decrease in anxiety by the end of the study, participants using higher CBD content reported far greater reductions in anxiety levels while those with higher levels of THC reported feelings of paranoia.

"The short-term effects were very clear: CBD was associated with tension and anxiety relief with limited harm," says neuroscientist Cinnamon Bidwell.

"Our study suggests that CBD products may be able to relieve anxiety in the moment for adults who use them, and possibly longer-term, in a way that is meaningful and doesn't necessarily produce the same risks or harms of THC or prescription medications."

The study concluded by saying that “This study provides novel information on the impacts of legal market cannabis with varying ratios of THC to CBD in individuals with anxiety symptoms. Findings suggest that THC did not increase anxiety and that CBD-dominant forms of cannabis were associated with acute tension reduction that may translate to longer-term reductions in anxiety symptoms.”