How Starting Medical Cannabis Affects Anxiety and Depression Over Six Months
New medical cannabis patients with anxiety and depression showed both acute and sustained improvements over six months, measured through real-time ecological momentary assessment.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Adults initiating medicinal cannabis for clinically significant anxiety and/or depression showed improvements on both ecological momentary assessment (real-time) and longitudinal follow-up evaluations over 6 months.
Key Numbers
6-month prospective follow-up using ecological momentary assessment and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale measures in Maryland medical cannabis patients.
How They Did This
Prospective observational cohort of adults with clinically significant anxiety and/or depression initiating medicinal cannabis in Maryland, using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) plus standard longitudinal follow-up over 6 months.
Why This Research Matters
Patients increasingly use cannabis for mental health despite mixed evidence. This prospective study with real-time symptom tracking provides more nuanced data than typical retrospective surveys on whether cannabis helps anxiety and depression.
The Bigger Picture
Mental health is the fastest-growing reason for medical cannabis use. Prospective data with real-time monitoring helps move beyond patients' retrospective recall, which can be biased by expectations.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Observational design without controls — improvements could reflect placebo effects, natural course, or concurrent treatments. Maryland-specific population may limit generalizability.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would these improvements hold up against placebo in an RCT?
- ?Which specific cannabis products and dosing patterns were associated with the best outcomes?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Prospective cohort with innovative EMA methodology, but lacks control group — cannot rule out placebo or natural improvement.
- Study Age:
- Recent prospective study using modern real-time assessment methods to track cannabis effects on mental health.
- Original Title:
- Acute and chronic effects of medicinal cannabis use on anxiety and depression in a prospective cohort of patients new to cannabis.
- Published In:
- Journal of affective disorders, 390, 119829 (2025)
- Authors:
- Wolinsky, David(5), Mayhugh, Rhiannon E, Surujnarain, Renuka, Thrul, Johannes, Vandrey, Ryan, Strickland, Justin C
- Database ID:
- RTHC-07965
Evidence Hierarchy
Frequently Asked Questions
Does medical cannabis help with anxiety and depression?
This study found improvements over 6 months in new users, but without a control group, it's unclear how much is due to cannabis vs. placebo effect or natural symptom fluctuation.
What is ecological momentary assessment?
EMA captures symptoms in real-time through repeated brief surveys during daily life, reducing recall bias compared to asking patients to remember how they felt weeks or months ago.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-07965APA
Wolinsky, David; Mayhugh, Rhiannon E; Surujnarain, Renuka; Thrul, Johannes; Vandrey, Ryan; Strickland, Justin C. (2025). Acute and chronic effects of medicinal cannabis use on anxiety and depression in a prospective cohort of patients new to cannabis.. Journal of affective disorders, 390, 119829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.119829
MLA
Wolinsky, David, et al. "Acute and chronic effects of medicinal cannabis use on anxiety and depression in a prospective cohort of patients new to cannabis.." Journal of affective disorders, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.119829
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Acute and chronic effects of medicinal cannabis use on anxie..." RTHC-07965. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/wolinsky-2025-acute-and-chronic-effects
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.