CBD vs THC for anxiety
Short answer: For anxiety, more users report improvement with CBD — 88% of 185 reports, versus 33% of 96 for THC.
CBD has 286 meta-analyses and 344 randomized trials on PubMed; THC has 249 and 488.
Based on 482 reports about CBD and 434 about THC. Not medical advice.
| CBD Supplement | THC Substance | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 59%helped236 reports · high confidence | 26%helped295 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mixed |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 286 / 344 | 249 / 488 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 88% (185) | 33% (96) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 72% (76) | 59% (95) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 85% (34) | 64% (58) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 83% (12) | 38% (40) |
| Pain & inflammation % reporting improvement | 80% (35) | 100% (12) |
| Common side effects | brain fog, headache, wakefulness, subdued feeling | anxiety, brain fog, vivid dreams, paranoia |
| Typical dose reported | 30-60 mg; 54 mg / after dinner; before bed | 7 mg / once a week |
In addition, this meta-analysis focuses on the efficacy of CBD in treating anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, caution should be exercised in interpreting our findings due to the limited size of the clinical sample, and additional trials ought to be carried out if deemed necessary.
Psychiatry Res, 2024 ↗“I take it for sleeping and anxiety and it works so well, even after five years. I haven't build up any tolerance.”
Cannabis use was also associated with increased relapse rates, more hospitalizations and pronounced positive symptoms in psychotic patients. We make recommendations about the type of research that is required to better characterize the relationship between cannabis use and the development and outcomes of psychosis.
Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci, 2020 ↗“once a week I smoke a little weed before the gym (sativa Pre-roll sour diesel from medmen) and it actually made me feel normal.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate