The therapeutic effects of cannabis are now more widely studied than ever before. As medical cannabis legalisation has spread across the world, and to the UK since 2018, more opportunities have opened up to clinically study cannabis for a variety of use cases. In the UK medical cannabis can be prescribed for its therapeutic effects on a variety of conditions of which the most well-researched and understood is for chronic pain. However, increasing numbers of trials and research papers suggest it may also be effective in treating common mental health issues when taken in conjunction with psychotherapy.

What is cannabis therapy exactly and when is it best used? 

Cannabis therapy can mean two quite different things. Cannabis taken medicinally (or therapeutically) as a treatment for symptoms of a medical conditions, or cannabis treatment used in conjunction with physical or psychotherapy.

Currently in the UK, the vast majority of patients can only obtain a medical cannabis prescription through a private clinic. That’s after proving they have tried at least two other treatments that haven’t been satisfactory. Interestingly, psychotherapy sessions count as one of those treatments. However, there is nothing saying patients can’t continue with psychotherapy, or return to it, while treating with medical cannabis.

Clinics like mamedica dispensary are right now offering UK patients medical cannabis, for treatment of a variety of conditions. A range of different medicines are available via full-service clinics who handle every step from consultation and prescription to delivery and follow up care.

Cannabis therapy is best conduced under clinically organised conditions, with prescribed dosages and treatment methods. No-one is suggesting patients can or should smoke a joint before attending therapy sessions. Not only would that probably create an overwhelming experience for most, it also remains illegal to smoke cannabis in the UK. Therapy sessions should be conducted after a carefully measured dosage of cannabis oil, vaped flower or possibly a well-time edible.

In most studies on cannabis assisted therapy, patients vaped a relatively low dose of 10mg of a 50/50% ratio of THC and CBD – the two main compounds in the cannabis flower – before talking to a therapist. That is very different to the 60–100mg of THC alone in 1 gram of many types of flower.

How does it work and what is the evidence? 

Many patients who present with chronic pain from various conditions can also develop depression, anxiety and other mental health issues due to the isolation, economic inactivity and stress that often comes with it.

Cannabis has been shown to be a holistic alternative to opioid medications in several trials. Although not as bluntly effective as a painkiller, patients replacing opioids with medical cannabis reported fewer and less intense periods of side effects as well as a more positive mental outlook toward their often incurable conditions.

One interesting recent study looked at the potential of combining a clinically prescribed course of medical cannabis with psychotherapy to treat patients suffering from PTSD. Specifically, dissociative PTSD.

Cannabis can be a dissociative, especially at higher doses, but many people anecdotally report it can calm dissociative states. Paradoxically it is also known to enhance tactile senses, and can induce flow state. Much of this difference will be down to strains and patients’ different physiologies and brain chemistry, which is why a clinically planned and prescribed dosage is important.

Academics at the University of Cambridge and the University of Utah found several patients who reported striking and wholesale improvements in their PTSD symptoms after medical cannabis treatment and psychotherapy. Including one patient who reported a reduction in symptomatic episodes of 95%. More research is needed, but the evidence is beginning to grow that cannabis has not only medicinal but also applied therapeutic uses.

The UK landscape right now is slowly evolving

More people are accessing medical cannabis in the UK every day, and some of these people will be actively combining it with some other kind of therapy for their condition. Some 60,000 Brits are currently treating their conditions with medical cannabis.

For example, patients can right now access uk cannabis reviews to help them make an informed choice. As noted above, different cannabis strains and medications can have subtly different effects for different people. So, being able to openly discuss and gain expert advice online as to the best options for individual needs is vitally important for patients.

Where treatment is happening, the UK’s top universities, research units and cannabis clinics themselves will be paying attention and collecting data. As well as the University of Cambridge, researchers at King’s College London, Imperial University London and other top universities in Canada and the US are all currently conducting studies into cannabis in assisted therapy. More research is needed, but the results so far are promising and the work will continue.

Samantha Green, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.