THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARIJUANA USE AND SELF-REPORTED SYMPTOMS OF GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between the use of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and cannabidiol (CBD) and symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Prior studies have not separately compared the relationship between the individual psychoactive components marijuana and GAD. Furthermore, these studies have ignored the variable of race/ethnicity, which was included in this current study. Based on prior studies, I hypothesized that marijuana would be associated with higher levels of anxiety in a sample of college students. Furthermore, CBD use was predicted to be associated with low levels of anxiety, whereas THC would be associated with high levels of anxiety in these participants. Additionally, it was hypothesized that participants who consumed higher levels of CBD would experience less symptoms of GAD. Thirty-five undergraduate students were recruited from the Introduction to Psychology participant pool in a public northeastern college. A series of Pearson's correlations were conducted between levels of marijuana use and seven indicators of GAD to test these hypotheses. Correlations were compared within four groups of participants: those who identified as White, Black, Mixed (Black/Hispanic), and the entire sample. Subgroup comparisons were also conducted based on levels of low and moderate use. Results indicated that marijuana use was associated with higher levels of anxiety. Results also suggested that THC use was not associated with levels of anxiety, while CBD was associated with lower rates of anxiety within our sample of participants. Finally, higher levels of CBD use were associated with lower symptoms of GAD in the entire sample, and even more strongly within the Hispanic subsample. Overall, the results suggest that CBD is associated with lower levels of anxiety primarily within Hispanic participants.