31% of Polish University Students Used Marijuana for Mental Health, Often Without Medical Guidance
Among 493 Polish university students, 31% used marijuana as a self-administered mental health treatment, and marijuana users showed more intense depressive symptoms than non-users.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
31.3% of students used marijuana as a complementary therapy. Marijuana users presented more intense depressive symptoms on PHQ-10. Marijuana use was more prevalent among yoga practitioners and students with ADHD. Students who engaged with professional healthcare also had higher marijuana usage. Cost (80.7%), availability (35.7%), and stigma (30.7%) were the main barriers to professional care.
Key Numbers
493 students surveyed. 46.5% had mental health disorder history. 31.3% used marijuana. 96.1% used any CAM method. 80.7% cited cost as barrier to professional care. Marijuana users had more intense depressive symptoms. More prevalent in yoga practitioners and ADHD students.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional survey of 493 students from Wroclaw universities (April-December 2024) assessing mental health history, CAM use, attitudes toward treatments, and depressive symptoms via PHQ-10-modeled questions.
Why This Research Matters
The high prevalence of marijuana self-medication among students, often alongside rather than instead of professional care, highlights gaps in accessible mental health services and the need for clinical awareness of students' actual treatment behaviors.
The Bigger Picture
This study captures a broader trend of young people self-managing mental health with cannabis and other alternative approaches. The correlation between marijuana use and worse depressive symptoms does not establish causation but warrants clinical attention.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design prevents causal conclusions. Self-reported mental health and substance use. Single-city university sample. Cannot determine if marijuana use worsens or follows from depression. CAM survey developed specifically for this study, not validated.
Questions This Raises
- ?Does marijuana self-medication worsen depression in students, or do more depressed students seek out marijuana?
- ?Would better mental health access reduce student marijuana self-medication?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Adequate sample with multiple measures, but cross-sectional design and single-city sampling limit to moderate.
- Study Age:
- Survey conducted April-December 2024 in Wroclaw, Poland.
- Original Title:
- Self-administered complementary and alternative methods of treating mental disorders among students in Wrocław: a cross-sectional study.
- Published In:
- Frontiers in public health, 13, 1734137 (2025)
- Authors:
- Sobieraj, Jakub, Sleziak, Jakub, Szyszka, Michał, Błażejewska, Marta, Łukańko, Kamila, Soczomska, Pola, Bodziony, Kinga, Piotrowski, Patryk
- Database ID:
- RTHC-07690
Evidence Hierarchy
Watches what happens naturally without intervening.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why do students use marijuana for mental health?
The study identified cost (80.7%), limited availability (35.7%), and stigma (30.7%) as major barriers to professional care, pushing students toward self-administered alternatives including marijuana.
Does marijuana help with depression?
In this study, marijuana users actually had more intense depressive symptoms, though the cross-sectional design cannot determine whether marijuana worsened depression or more depressed students were more likely to self-medicate with marijuana.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-07690APA
Sobieraj, Jakub; Sleziak, Jakub; Szyszka, Michał; Błażejewska, Marta; Łukańko, Kamila; Soczomska, Pola; Bodziony, Kinga; Piotrowski, Patryk. (2025). Self-administered complementary and alternative methods of treating mental disorders among students in Wrocław: a cross-sectional study.. Frontiers in public health, 13, 1734137. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1734137
MLA
Sobieraj, Jakub, et al. "Self-administered complementary and alternative methods of treating mental disorders among students in Wrocław: a cross-sectional study.." Frontiers in public health, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1734137
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Self-administered complementary and alternative methods of t..." RTHC-07690. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/sobieraj-2025-selfadministered-complementary-and-alternative
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.