Elsevier

Journal of Affective Disorders

Volume 279, 15 January 2021, Pages 158-163
Journal of Affective Disorders

Research paper
Acute Effects of Cannabis on Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.09.124Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Inhaled cannabis reduced the severity of compulsions by 60% and intrusions by 49%.

  • Higher levels of CBD and higher doses predicted larger reductions in compulsions.

  • Tolerance to the effects of cannabis on intrusions may develop over time

  • Baseline symptom severity remained static over time suggesting no long-term benefit

Abstract

Background

Little is known about the the acute effects of cannabis on symptoms of OCD in humans. Therefore, this study sought to: 1) examine whether symptoms of OCD are significantly reduced after inhaling cannabis, 2) examine predictors (gender, dose, cannabis constituents, time) of these symptom changes and 3) explore potential long-term consequences of repeatedly using cannabis to self-medicate for OCD symptoms, including changes in dose and baseline symptom severity over time.

Method

Data were analyzed from the app Strainprint® which provides medical cannabis patients a means of tracking changes in symptoms as a function of different doses and strains of cannabis across time. Specifically, data were analyzed from 87 individuals self-identifying with OCD who tracked the severity of their intrusions, compulsions, and/or anxiety immediately before and after 1,810 cannabis use sessions spanning a period of 31 months.

Results

Patients reported a 60% reduction in compulsions, a 49% reduction in intrusions, and a 52% reduction in anxiety from before to after inhaling cannabis. Higher concentrations of CBD and higher doses predicted larger reductions in compulsions. The number of cannabis use sessions across time predicted changes in intrusions, such that later cannabis use sessions were associated with smaller reductions in intrusions. Baseline symptom severity and dose remained fairly constant over time.

Limitations

The sample was self-selected, self-identified as having OCD, and there was no placebo control group.

Conclusions

Inhaled cannabis appears to have short-term beneficial effects on symptoms of OCD. However, tolerance to the effects on intrusions may develop over time.

Section snippets

Procedure

To bypass federal restrictions on the administration of cannabis to research participants, archival data were obtained from Strainprint® Technologies (Strainprint®). Strainprint® is a real-world technology platform with a medical cannabis journaling app which provides medical cannabis patients with a means to track changes in symptom severity as a function of different strains and doses of cannabis. When first using the app, Strainprint® users indicate the conditions and symptoms that they use

Data Analysis

The percent of cannabis use sessions involving reductions, exacerbations, and no changes in severity were computed for each symptom. To further examine changes in symptom severity from before to after cannabis use, two-time point latent change score (LCS) models were used. These models allowed us to assess changes in OCD symptoms within subjects over time, and as a function of specific predictors of interest (e.g., gender, dose, cannabinoid content). A detailed description of this approach is

Percentage of Sessions Involving Symptom Change

The majority of cannabis use sessions resulted in reductions in intrusions (89.6%), compulsions (95.4%), and anxiety (93.8%). In contrast, only a small number of sessions were associated with a worsening of intrusions (3%), compulsions (2.3%), or anxiety (1.9%). The remaining cannabis use sessions involved no changes in symptoms.

LCS Models Predicting Change in Symptom Severity Ratings

Fig. 1 depicts the average symptom severity ratings for each of the three symptoms both before and after cannabis use. There was a 49% reduction in intrusions, a 60%

Discussion

The goal of this study was to examine the acute effects of cannabis on symptoms of OCD using an innovative methodology that allowed us to bypass federal restrictions on studying the acute effects of cannabis on humans. Using a large dataset of medical cannabis users self-medicating for symptoms of OCD, we found that for the vast majority of cannabis use sessions individuals reported reductions in intrusions, compulsions, and anxiety. Moreover, results indicated that after inhaling cannabis,

Contributors

Dakota Mauzay helped to conceive of the idea, performed the literature review, helped conduct the analyses, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Emily LaFrance helped to conceive of the research questions, conduct the analyses, and edit the manuscript. Carrie Cuttler conceived of the idea and research questions, obtained the data, assisted with analyses, created the figure, interpreted the results, and contributed to the preparation of all components of the manuscript.

Role of Funding Source

This work was supported by Washington State University's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Program (Dedicated Marijuana Account). The funder had no role in the conduct or results of the study.

Declaration of Competing Interest

None of the authors have conflicts of interest to declare.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the creators of Strainprint® for freely and openly providing the data used in this study.

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