Do You Prefer ‘High-Potency’ Weed? If You’re Worried About Your Anxiety, You Might Want to Read This

Article by Angela Stelmakowich, Growth Op

Study participants who used high-potency cannabis products were twice as likely to report anxiety disorders than those who consumed lower-potency products, suggests new research out of the U.K.

“Risks for cannabis use problems and anxiety disorders are higher among those reporting use of high-potency cannabis,” notes the study published this week in JAMA Psychiatry. This risk persists even after accounting for sociodemographic factors, adolescent mental health and frequency of cannabis use.

“We know that people who use cannabis are more likely to report mental health problems than those who don’t use cannabis, but we don’t fully understand how recent increases in the strength and potency of cannabis affects this,” explains lead author Dr. Lindsey Hines, a senior research associate from Bristol Medical School, according to Medical Net.

The study is believed to be “the first general population evidence suggesting that the use of high-potency cannabis is associated with mental health and addiction,” notes the study abstract. It involved analyzing almost 1,100 people who had used cannabis in the last year — 141 of them consumers of high-potency products.

But a higher risk of anxiety disorders was hardly all researchers from the University of Bristol found. They report that 29 per cent of high-potency cannabis consumers were more likely to have “psychotic experiences” than users of low-potency products, 40 per cent were more likely to develop tobacco dependence, almost 30 per cent were at increased risk for illicit drug use and four times more were likely to abuse cannabis, according to UPI.

Read the full article here.