From the Desk of a Doctor Newsletter
⚠️ The Science on Cannabis and Mental Health Is Not What You Have Been Told
Medicinal Cannabis and Mental Health, here is what the largest study EVER Conducted actually found.
Millions of people are taking cannabis for anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
It's being prescribed at record rates. Sales have tripled. In Australia alone, there have been over 1 million prescriptions in just four years.
But here's what most people aren't being told:
The largest study ever conducted on this topic just found no evidence it works for any of those conditions.
The Study
Researchers at the University of Sydney's Matilda Centre analyzed 54 randomized controlled trials spanning 45 years of data — the gold standard of clinical evidence (PMID: 41856154).
The paper was published March 17, 2026 in The Lancet Psychiatry.
They looked at whether medicinal cannabis was effective for:
Anxiety
Depression
PTSD
Anorexia nervosa
Psychotic disorders
Opioid use disorder
The finding across every single one of these conditions: no evidence it works.
The Findings 📉
❌ No benefit found for anxiety, depression, or PTSD
❌ No benefit found for anorexia nervosa, psychotic disorders, or opioid use disorder
✅ Evidence does support use for epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, and chemo-induced nausea
⚠️ For ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, and OCD, the evidence gap was so large researchers couldn't even perform a meta-analysis
That last point is worth sitting with. Prescriptions for these conditions are based largely on anecdote, not science.
Why This Matters
50% of medical cannabis users are taking it specifically for mental health reasons.
27% of US and Canadian adults aged 16–65 have used it medically at some point.
The prescriptions have exploded. The science has not kept up.
As the lead researcher Dr. Jack Wilson put it, routine use of medicinal cannabis could be doing more harm than good by worsening mental health outcomes and delaying access to treatments that actually work.
This study is not saying cannabis is useless. It works for specific, well-defined conditions. But the conditions millions of people are being prescribed it not have solid scientific backing.
That is a problem worth knowing about.
Takeaway
If you or someone you know is taking medicinal cannabis for anxiety, depression, or PTSD, this is not a reason to panic.
It is a reason to have a conversation with your doctor about whether the evidence supports your specific situation — and whether other options have been fully explored.
The goal is always to make sure the treatment matches the science.
— Dr. Myro Figura, M.D.
|
About the Author
I’m Dr. Myro, a board-certified doctor and med school educator who somehow ended up with over 6 million followers watching my science videos on
YouTube,
Instagram,
TikTok,
and Facebook.
I’ve published 60+ scientific abstracts and even written a book, but this newsletter is my favorite project. Here I get to share the good stuff — simple, actionable health tips delivered twice a week. Happy to have you here.
|
Send this to a friend so they can subscribe