Marijuana Studies | People who use cannabis daily or near daily had a blunted stress reaction when exposed to a high-stress situation....
according to a study published in Psychopharmacology. In fact, their cortisol levels under high stress were no different than when facing no stress.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of acute stress on salivary cortisol levels in chronic cannabis users compared to nonusers,” said researcher Carrie Cuttler, PhD, clinical assistant professor of psychology at Washington State University, Pullman.
“While we are not at a point where we are comfortable saying whether this muted stress response is a good thing or a bad thing, our work is an important first step in investigating potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis at a time when its use is spreading faster than ever before.”
The study involved 40 people who used cannabis chronically over the previous year and 42 people who used cannabis no more than 10 times in their lives—and not at all in the previous year. Chronic cannabis users abstained from use the day of the study.
Participants provided a saliva sample, rated their stress level, and were randomly assigned to either the high-stress or no-stress conditions of the Maastricht Acute Stress Test. The high-stress condition required participants to place their hand in an ice bath for up to 90 seconds and then count backwards by 17 from 2043. Participants received verbal feedback whenever they made a mistake and saw themselves on a video monitor while undergoing the test.
In the no-stress condition, participants put their hands in lukewarm water for up to 90 seconds and then counted to 25.
Immediately after the stress test, participants provided a second saliva sample and again rated their current stress level.
Among participants who were not cannabis users, cortisol levels and subjective stress ratings were much greater in the high-stress situation compared with the no-stress condition. In contrast, chronic cannabis users showed no increase in cortisol and a significantly smaller increase in subjective stress ratings when exposed to the high-stress situation, compared with the no-stress situation.
More study is needed, the researchers said, to determine whether chronic cannabis use helps individuals by increasing resiliency or renders them vulnerable through a blunted ability to respond appropriately to environmental threats.
“An inability to mount a proper hormonal response to stress could also have detrimental effects that could potentially be harmful to the individual,” Dr. Cuttler said. “Research on cannabis is really just now ramping up because of legalization, and our work going forward will play an important role in investigating both the short-term benefits and potential long-term consequences of chronic cannabis use.”
