A study by University of New Mexico (UNM) researchers found in a first-of-its-kind, large-scale study that cannabis use results in the immediate improvement of feelings of fatigue in the majority of consumers.
Fatigue is a core feature of many types of illnesses, and several studies have shown that people with chronic pain, cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, and multiple sclerosis report increased energy levels after consuming medical cannabis, the researchers said in a press release. The study found cannabis consumers were likely to experience a 3.5-point improvement of feelings of fatigue on a 0-10 scale after combusting cannabis flower and that 91% of study participants, using the Releaf App, reported fatigue symptom improvement. The study included 1,224 people who recorded 3,922 cannabis flower self-administration sessions between June 6, 2016, and Aug. 7, 2019.
Study co-author and Associate Professor Jacob Miguel Vigil, from the UNM Department of Psychology Department, said the research results run contrary to “conventional beliefs that frequent cannabis use may result in decreased behavioral activity, goal-pursuit, and competitiveness, or what academics have called ‘amotivational syndrome.’”
“…People tend to actually experience an immediate boost in their energy levels immediately after consuming cannabis.” – Vigil in a statement
Virgil added that the researchers observed that THC and CBD “were largely uncorrelated with changes in feelings of fatigue” which suggests “other minor cannabinoids and phytochemicals such as terpenes may be more influential on the effects of using cannabis than previously believed.”
Sarah Stith, a study co-author and associate professor in the UNM Economics Department, called the finding “one of the most surprising outcomes.”
The study “The Effects of Consuming Cannabis Flower for Treatment of Fatigue” was published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids and was supported.
New Mexico‘s adult-use cannabis legalization policy took effect last month.
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