A new study suggests that cannabis can help treat short-term, severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms.
The study, carried out by Washington State University and published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, examined data from those who self-identify as suffering from OCD. Those surveyed reported that after smoking cannabis, compulsions were reduced by 60 percent, intrusive thoughts by 49 percent and anxiety by 52 percent.
Overall, data was obtained from more than 1,800 different cannabis sessions divided between 87 people over 31 months. Researchers also took into account tolerance, frequency of cannabis use and the relationship between reductions of compulsions and use as it relates to tolerance. “The results overall indicate that cannabis may have some beneficial short-term but not really long-term effects on obsessive-compulsive disorder,” said Carrie Cuttler, one of the study’s authors. “To me, the CBD findings are really promising because it is not intoxicating. This is an area of research that would really benefit from clinical trials looking at changes in compulsions, intrusions and anxiety with pure CBD.”
“We’re trying to build knowledge about the relationship of cannabis use and OCD because it’s an area that is really understudied,” added Dakota Mauzay, a doctoral student in Cuttler’s lab and first author on the paper.
Currently, the only treatments accepted for OCD are exposure and response prevention therapy to confront compulsions and serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication. Both of these approaches can be effective, but they don’t help every case, so new research about how cannabis can help is exciting for those seeking relief from OCD. More research on the subject could lead to even more insight about this new avenue of treatment.
This is the fourth study that Cuttler has been involved with regarding cannabis as treatment. Previously, she has also participated in studies that focused on how cannabis affects post-traumatic stress disorder, headache pain and emotional well-being.
