{"id":2512,"date":"2026-03-17T23:02:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T23:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/theres-no-evidence-marijuana-works-to-treat-most-mental-health-disorders-largest-review-of-its-kind-finds-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T23:02:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T23:02:41","slug":"theres-no-evidence-marijuana-works-to-treat-most-mental-health-disorders-largest-review-of-its-kind-finds-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/theres-no-evidence-marijuana-works-to-treat-most-mental-health-disorders-largest-review-of-its-kind-finds-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s \u2018no evidence\u2019 marijuana works to treat most mental health disorders, largest review of its kind finds – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in<\/span>Please refresh your browser to be logged in<\/span>
Swipe for next article
More than 52 million Americans used marijuana at least once in 2021
Removed from bookmarks
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice<\/a>
There\u2019s \u201cno evidence\u201d that medical marijuana<\/a> is effective in treating anxiety<\/a>, depression<\/a> or post-traumatic stress<\/a>, according to a new study.
The review<\/a> of 54 international trials published over a span of 45 years – the largest of its kind to date – could change the way marijuana is used medically.
Some experts previously linked using marijuana to reduced stress<\/a> and anxiety<\/a>, but research has also shown using the drug can result in heightened symptoms of anxiety<\/a>, depression and mental disorders, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>.
The new findings indicate the need for greater regulation of medical marijuana use, the Australian authors said.
\u201cThough our paper didn\u2019t specifically look at this, the routine use of medicinal cannabis could be doing more harm than good by worsening mental health outcomes,\u201d The University of Sydney\u2019s Dr Jack Wilson, the study’s lead author, explained in a statement. <\/a>\u201cFor example a greater risk of psychotic symptoms and developing cannabis use disorder, and delaying the use of more effective treatments.\u201d
More than 48 million Americans are battling a substance use disorder, according to federal data<\/a> from 2024 – the latest year for which data is available. And, over 22 million Americans aged 12 and older battled a marijuana use disorder in the past year, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, rising from 19 million in 2023.
The percentage of Americans who use marijuana has also increased to historic highs<\/a>, with the number of people who smoke it more than doubling from 2013 to 2024, a Gallup survey<\/a> conducted that year showed.
Marijuana is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the U.S., and the CDC says<\/a> 52.5 million Americans used it at least once in 2021.
Medical marijuana is legal in 40 states and Washington, D.C. The number of Americans who use medical marijuana is much smaller, and researchers estimated in 2021 that tally was around three million<\/a> and growing.
Many of those people are older adults, who are disproportionately impacted by chronic disease, long-term pain<\/a> and injuries \u2013 even as researchers warn that there are physical and mental risks to regular marijuana use<\/a> for people over the age of 65 and that more studies need to be done to determine its effects.
Studies from researchers at Stanford Medicine found that regular use was correlated with a 29 percent increase in heart attacks<\/a> and a 20 percent increase in strokes.
\u201cThere is no safe amount of cannabis. Low doses and occasional use are still associated with vascular inflammation,\u201d Dr. Joseph Wu, the director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, said in October. \u201cAbstinence is the safest option for heart health.\u201d
The new analysis found that medical marijuana used for other conditions \u201cmay be beneficial\u201d in certain health conditions, such as pain and multiple sclerosis. Two studies published in October showed marijuana could help alleviate back pain<\/a>.
\u201cBut the overall quality of evidence for these other conditions, such as autism and insomnia, was low,\u201d said Wilson, also noting that there is no universal experience of autism and that those results should be treated with \u201cwith caution.\u201d
The researchers noted that medicinal marijuana was found to increase cravings for cocaine, as well, among people living with cocaine-use disorder.
For people with marijuana dependency, the analysis showed that an oral form could help \u201cwhen administered alongside psychological therapy.\u201d
A separate study<\/a> published by Johns Hopkins Medicine on Tuesday found that young people with marijuana use disorder were more likely than others with different substance use disorders to be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. The same was not true for adults.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in<\/span>Please refresh your browser to be logged in<\/span><\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inSwipe for next articleMore than 52 million Americans used marijuana at least once in 2021Removed from bookmarksI would like to be emailed about offers, events and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2512","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}