Anxiety and stress are very common sensations and likewise generic. An anxiety state can have manifold manifestations and causes and it expresses itself in a different way in each individual.

Cannabis products containing CBD are becoming increasingly popular amongst those who want to alleviate stress or only just relax after a day’s work.

The revision of scientific studies on the effects of CBD

Pointing out the fact that CBD products (like e-liquids for electronic cigarettes, crystals or oils) must respect severe quality standards, the effectiveness of this active principle continues, gradually, to gain the consent of the scientific community.

In 2015 in the magazine Neuroterapeuthics a revision was published of studies conducted up to that moment, in order to verify the potential effects of CBD in treating anxiety states.

The results are very encouraging. The revision examined 49 preclinical, clinical and epidemiological cases; and also included the research done with  brain-imaging techniques (technologies allowing to study the brain metabolism).

From the revision, edited by Esther M. Blessing, Maria M. Steenkamp, Jorge Manzanares and Charles R. Marmar from the New York School of Medicine, emerged that the preclinical studies demonstrated the effectiveness of CBD in reducing anxiety provoked by many disorders, likefor example, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety,  obsessive-compulsive disorder and many others.

CBD and the anxiety of talking in public. The study on Nature

To be reported, among the research studies part of this revision, a 2011 investigation on the effects of CBD in calming the social anxiety some individuals experience before talking in public.

The study, published in the magazine of the group called Nature, Neuropsychopharmacology, involved a group of 24 individuals to whom CBD was administered before having to expose themselves by speaking to an audience.

The volunteers to which CBD was given were monitored by the researchers and demonstrated to experience a stress level which was significantly lower with respect to the control group, to whom a simple placebo was administered.

The latest research results

Conducted in 2018, is the study of scientists from The University of Washington, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, which took into account a really substantial sample of individuals – over 1.400 male and female volunteers – in order to investigate the effectiveness of cannabis products in anxiety and stress.

The researchers availed themselves of an applications (Strainprint),with which the participants indicated their own data (collected anonymously), the quantity and variety of cannabis used and, in conclusion, the effects detected.

From the 12.000 replies received by the authors of the study, it was proven that more than half of the participants (a 58%) detected a clear reduction of anxiety, in particular cannabis with high CBD and low THC contents was indicated as the most effective in treating anxiety and depression.  

While research is continuing, step by step, the confirmations are increasing regarding the benefits of CBD in treating anxiety and stress. Also thanks to research, today it is possible to consume CBD in cannabis products which are guaranteed and controlled, starting from the cultivation of the plants.