An extensive study by Canadian cannabis producer VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSE: VIVO) (OTCMKTS: VVCIF) has found medical cannabis can help alleviate anxiety and depression.
The results of the study — Medical cannabis use in Canada and its impact on anxiety and depression: A retrospective study — were published in the peer-reviewed journal Psychiatry Research.
Completed by VIVO’s Harvest Medicine Inc. subsidiary, the study was the largest of its kind to date, examining the impact of medical cannabis on anxiety and depression in 7,362 Canadian patients.
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Analysis was conducted over three different timeframes: three to six months, 12 to 18 months, and 24 months or longer.
The study found that patients using medical cannabis for anxiety and/or depression saw improvement between baseline and follow-up scores, providing evidence to support the effectiveness of medical cannabis as a treatment.
Chart via VIVO Cannabis
“Our team has worked hard to share these clinical insights in an effort to contribute to the medical cannabis literature and to reduce stigma amongst health care professionals,” Harvest Medicine president Carole Chan said in a statement.
“We are committed to further research and advancing patient outcomes with an evidence-informed approach to patient care.”
From 12 months on, those reporting anxiety had an average decrease in scores that was greater than the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) of four. The same results were seen for patients reporting depression from 18 months on, with the average decrease in scores more than the MCID of five.
Chart via VIVO Cannabis
Medical cannabis also benefited patients who did not seek treatment for anxiety or depression specifically. While average anxiety score rose slightly and depression scores levelled off after the three-month mark, they did not return to the baseline level.
“Based on our findings, we propose the explanation that patients who actively seek treatment with medical cannabis for anxiety and depression are more likely to benefit as they are selecting products and using cannabis mindfully with this specific intention,” the report stated.
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Areas of future research for Harvest Medicine will include more in-depth analysis into patients’ medical characteristics and cannabis treatment selections to further explore the impact of medical cannabis treatment on individual conditions.
The study offers justification for the completion of large clinical trials to further the understanding of medical cannabis as a treatment for anxiety and depression.
VIVO Cannabis stock was unchanged Tuesday, trading at $0.05 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
ryan@mugglehead.com
