There are many ways to cope with stress. Some people like to take a hot bath, others workout, others drink a glass of wine to unwind. Then there are many who smoke cannabis to relax.
Marijuana is now legal in eight states for adults 21 and over and scientific evidence is now backing that the plant can reduce stress.
According to researchers from Washington State who published a study in the journal Psychopharmacology, regular marijuana users were found to keep their cool under stressful situations better than those who did not use the drug.
The study involved 82 individuals who were split up into two groups. While 40 were self-identified chronic marijuana users, the other 42 had not used marijuana more than 10 times in their lives and did not use it at all in the past year.
The tests conducted put physiological and psycho-social stress on the participants. The marijuana user group however was allowed to smoke the night before.
The study used the Maastricht Acute Stress Test that exposes people to different situations to elicit stress. This included their hand being dunked into a container of freezing water and having to count backwards from 2,043 in intervals of 17. Any mistake would lead to a lab worker reprimanding them.
The remaining participants within the two groups were given an easier task of having their hand submerged in luke warm water and counting 1 to 25 forward. There was no criticism in this group.
The participants gave saliva examples before and after the experiment and also completed stress-related questionnaires before and after each test.
The study found that cortisol levels went a lot higher among the non-marijuana users while the chronic marijuana users barely showed a difference in cortisol levels in each test.
Cortisol is a stress-related hormone that is produced by the adrenal glands.
This could be concrete scientific proof that marijuana use can calm stress.
