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3w ago

Lancet Psychiatry Review Finds Little Evidence for Medical Cannabis in Most Mental Health Disorders

The finding highlights a growing mismatch between widespread prescribing in countries like Australia versus a thin trial evidence base that needs larger, better studies.

Two women enter the Trees Station, a medical marijuana dispensary, as others walk past in Toronto, Ontario, Canada May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo
Marijuana plants are seen at the Rak Jang farm, one of the first farms that has been given permission by the Thai government to grow cannabis and sell products to medical facilities, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand March 28, 2021. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/File Photo
Image
In this photo illustration, marijuana joints and buds, also known as 'flower', are viewed on May 24, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. A new study by Carnegie Mellon University has found that marijuana consumption has overtaken alcohol as more Americans now use marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis than those who drink alcohol at a similar frequency.

Overview

  • The review pooled 54 randomized controlled trials conducted from 1980 through May 2025, covering 2,477 participants.
  • Researchers found no significant benefit for anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder or opioid-use disorder, and identified no randomized trials for depression.
  • Signals of benefit were limited and low quality, including reduced cannabis withdrawal and consumption with combined CBD/THC, reduced tics in Tourette’s, some autistic trait changes and increased sleep time in insomnia.
  • Authors and external experts said conclusions are constrained by small, heterogeneous studies that often do not distinguish THC- from CBD-dominant products.
  • Prescribing has surged in Australia under the Special Access Scheme, yet researchers urge larger, high-quality trials now in progress, including Orygen-led CBD anxiety studies and autism trials.