TITLE:
The Potential Effectiveness of Medical Cannabis in the Treatment of Wellness Outcomes for Veterans with Depression
AUTHORS:
Mandy Liedeman, Chanile Vines, Justin Whitehall
KEYWORDS:
Depression, PTSD, Medical Cannabis, Veteran, Cannabinoid Therapy
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Depression,
Vol.12 No.2,
May
31,
2023
ABSTRACT: Depression is a pervasive mental illness with a
prevalence of about nine percent of the Canadian population (Van Ameringen et al.,
2008). Depression commonly presents with several
chronic symptoms that can severely impact the
quality of life and mental well-being, such as intrusive thoughts, flashbacks,
irritability, anxiety, and sleep disturbances (Sharpless
& Barber, 2011). Military
veterans are notably present with much higher rates of depression than civilians (Veterans Affairs Canada, 2019).
There is no single effective treatment,
and persons with depression might receive multiple modes of treatment in
combination. To date, few studies have characterized the demographic characteristics of medical marijuana
patients or assessed them for pre-post changes
in well-being. A mixed methods study was conducted to better understand therapeutic benefits for
patients. Here, we aimed to describe physician authorization patterns of
medical cannabis products and observe the self-reported effectiveness and
wellness outcomes (depression and anxiety) of
medical cannabis among Veterans from Avail Cannabis Clinic. Methods: A
total of 34 patients were recruited for retrospective chart review. Researchers compared outcomes using the
Patient-Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for the depression wellness scale. On intake and assessment, doctors interviewed patients on their lived
experiences, and the questions were similar to the survey questions,
with more opportunities for open-ended responses. Patients were asked to
describe preconditions and treatment goals. Results: The average score
before the administration of the treatment was 14.6, which according to
the scoring guide, denotes moderate to moderately severe depression symptoms.
After the treatment was administered, the average PHQ-9 total score decreased to 10.5, which according to the
scoring guide highlights mild to moderate
depression symptoms. A linear regression was also conducted to determine
whether the dosage is a good predictor of the change in depression. The r2 value shows that the model
explains roughly 23% (r2-0.236) of the data. When asked to provide a percentage to characterize
the change in symptoms, an average decline of 42% was verbally indicated by participants
when asked to report the percentage of decreased pain. A similar self-reported
improvement was seen with increased activity, where 38% of participants increased their activity. Conclusion: The interview and survey results
indicate that patients seek medical cannabis to relieve medical ailments and have reported better-improved
quality of life, mobility, and decreased pain. This
finding aligned with previous studies which also found increased overall condition and energy as the most significant perceived
benefits. The results may provide further clinical evidence to support
the use of medical cannabis for depression symptoms and support more extensive
research studies in the future.