Stress relief is among the most common reasons people give for using cannabis, and it is among the most common themes in how cannabis products are marketed. The scientific evidence supporting that pairing is considerably thinner than the marketing implies, and a new study from Oregon State University adds a complication rather than a confirmation.
Researchers found that frequent cannabis users woke up with higher levels of circulating cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone, than people who used cannabis rarely or not at all. The paper, "Subjective Stress and Diurnal Salivary Cortisol in Adults with Frequent Cannabis Use," was published in the journal Cannabis, with the university announcing the findings in July.
