A study conducted in the United States found that treating pain, anxiety, and depression with marijuana was not only ineffective, but also doubled the risk of developing a use disorder.
Released by the JAMA Network Open magazine, the investigation by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) included 269 people with an average age of 37 years, from the city of Boston, who would use medicinal cannabis.
The experts divided the sample into two groups: the first included those who started their treatment immediately; the second, 12 weeks (three months) later, reported Euronews Next.
The use of cannabis products under medical supervision “did not significantly improve” the symptoms for which patients required support. In addition, it “significantly increased the risk of people developing a use disorder.”
The latter, the version specified, is defined by authorities as “the inability of a person to stop using marijuana despite the fact that it is causing social and health problems.”
“The odds of developing this disorder were almost three times higher in the group that got a medical marijuana card immediately than in the group that got it 12 weeks later,” the study found.
Those who started treatment within a few days “did not see significant changes in pain severity or symptoms of anxiety or depression,” but did manage to manage insomnia and improve well-being.
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as some thirty territories in the United States, have adopted cannabis for therapeutic use, Euronews Next reported.
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