Anxiety can feel like the worst. For some people, cannabis seems to help. Research is starting to tell us more about how. Unfortunately, research also shows that when people consistently use cannabis before their brain is done developing (≈age 27), it seems to worsen anxiety and depression in the long run.

When anyone starts using cannabis regularly, they become more sensitive to feeling anxiety when they are not high. The same amount of anxiety that they once tolerated now feels overwhelming. They are then more likely to get high again to deal with it. This is totally understandable, but it also just tends to make things worse in the long run.

It can be hard for someone to sort out the extent to which cannabis appears to help with anxiety, and the extent to which cannabis worsens it. This is further complicated by withdrawal. For example, say someone sets out to take a tolerance break. Say they get really anxious around day three, start smoking again and feel better. They might view this as proof that cannabis helps with anxiety: “When I stopped, I felt really anxious, but when I started again, I felt better. Cannabis cures my anxiety.” But anxiety itself is a withdrawal symptom from cannabis. What they demonstrated wasn’t really a cure, it was dependency.

It is worth considering all this for yourself. It may be that cannabis feels like it’s helping but at the same time it can also be hurting. Figuring out this mix in your life will help you find and maintain balance.

Because they felt more anxious when they stopped using cannabis, and felt better when they started using again, it can appear that cannabis cured their anxiety.