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Expectancies for Cannabis-Induced Emotional Breakthrough, Mystical Experiences and Changes in Dysfunctional Attitudes: Perceptions of the Potential for Cannabis-Assisted Psychotherapy for Depression

Mitch Earleywine, Maha N. Mian, Brianna R. Altman, Joseph A. de Leo

Cannabis July 11, 2022 DOI: 10.26828/cannabis/2022.02.02 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Survey-based experimental study Peer reviewed
Sample size 1,000
Population Cannabis users
Intervention Cannabis-assisted psychotherapy session
Topics Depression Psychedelic-assisted therapy Cannabis Mystical experience
Keywords = tetrahydrocannabinol Mystical experiences Oceanic boundlessness
Citations 11
Key findings Cannabis users expect that cannabis-assisted psychotherapy would reduce depression through both anticipated psychedelic-like subjective effects and expected changes in dysfunctional attitudes.

Abstract

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has established antidepressant effects. Cannabis users appear to expect high doses administered in a session much like psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to create comparable subjective effects. The current studies explored expectations of antidepressant effects of such cannabis-assisted sessions to replicate and extend previous work. Users not only expected a cannabis-assisted psychotherapy session to decrease depression, but also to alter some of the same mediators of psychedelic or psychological treatments. Over 500 participants in Study I envisioned a cannabis-assisted therapy session akin to those used in psychedelic therapies and reported the effects that they expected on depression as well as relevant subjective reactions. A second sample of over 500 participants responded to identical measures and an index of dysfunctional attitudes that appears to mediate antidepressant effects of psychotherapy. Expectancies of cannabis-induced antidepressant effects covaried with expected psychedelic effects. Participants also envisioned that cannabis-assisted therapy would alter dysfunctional attitudes, which served as a separate, unique path to expected antidepressant effects unrelated to the subjective effects of psychedelics. These results add support to arguments for relevant clinical trials of cannabis-assisted psychotherapy and suggest that cannabis users would expect it to work in ways similar to psychedelics as well as cognitive therapy.

Comparable studies

Other experimental studies on cannabis, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Smoked Cannabis' Psychomotor and Neurocognitive Effects in Occasional and Frequent Smokers Occasional (<2x/week) and frequent (≥4x/week) cannabis smokers 2015 Controlled within-subjects study n = 25
Dissociable effects of cannabis with and without cannabidiol on the human brain’s resting-state functional connectivity Healthy volunteers experienced with cannabis but not regular users 2019 Within-subjects experimental design n = 17
Which biological and self-report measures of cannabis use predict cannabis dependency and acute psychotic-like effects? Young cannabis users 2018 Observational study (naturalistic, within-subject counterbalanced design) n = 410
Cannabis Essential Oil: A Preliminary Study for the Evaluation of the Brain Effects Healthy volunteers 2018 Experimental study n = 5
Coming off cannabis: a cognitive and magnetic resonance imaging study in patients with multiple sclerosis Patients with multiple sclerosis who began using cannabis after disease onset, used it... 2019 Quasi-experimental study with odd-even allocation n = 40

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Depression Psychedelic-assisted therapy Cannabis Mystical experience Mysticism