Marijuana Might Be Beneficial in Combating Phobias

For some, it might mean feeling a little uneasy when matched with an
unknown entity that catches them off guard when they least expect it, or a
looming dread of a weekly editorial meeting that keeps them from wanting to
get out of bed. Hey, we’ve been there. There are other people, however, who
have an irrational, crippling fear (otherwise known as a phobia) of
something that hinders their lives with such ferocity that they will do
everything in their power to maintain a safe distance.

You won’t catch these folks in or even around an airport, near the snake
pit at the local zoo, in confined spaces, or checking out the view from the
top of the Empire State Building. Oh, hell no. People with phobias are
perfectly content living their lives without any of these perceived
frightening situations turning them into a frayed ball of nerves. Maybe
even you have a phobia that you’ve lived with ever since you can remember
that still, to this day, scares the holy bejeezus out of you. You’d do
anything to avoid facing it. But don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. Around 19
million people all across the U.S. suffer from an irrational fear of
something, which makes it the most common mental disorder in the country,
according to the *National Institute of Mental Health*.

There is no need to fear, though, cannabis might be just what the doctor
ordered. A body of evidence has emerged over the past six years or so
suggesting that marijuana, or at least some of its essential compounds,
might be able to help people with certain kinds of phobias be less afraid.

A study from the University of Michigan, which was published in the journal
*Neuropsychology* in 2013, finds that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) might
provide phobia patients with a trapdoor out of the horrific anxiety that
comes with these conditions. In some cases, researchers discovered that the
stoner cannabinoid is so beneficial in this respect that it even allowed
some patients to work through their fears and moved past them. But it’s not
like researchers just got a bunch of people super stoned and then tossed
them in a closed space and let them work out their anxieties.

The study, which involved around 30 people, used a Pavlovian fear
extinction paradigm and simultaneous skin conductance response recording
while dosing patients with a synthetic version of THC called dronabinol, according
to *Science Direct*. Still, researchers say that people under the influence
of THC showed less fear over time. “These results provide the first
evidence that pharmacological enhancement of extinction learning is
feasible in humans using cannabinoid system modulators, which may thus
warrant further development and clinical testing,” the study authors wrote.

Another study, this one from the *Frontiers of Pharmacology*, shows that
America’s favorite non-intoxicating cannabis compound cannabidiol (CBD)
might actually have some therapeutic benefit when it comes to dealing with
specific phobias. The study, which was led by Chenchen Song of the
University of Birmingham in 2017, shows that 10 mg injections of CBD were
able to reduce the fear memory in rats. Sure, it’s not likely that these
animals were afraid of heights or flying, but Song says that the cannabis
component did make them less fearful of being eaten alive by predators.
It’s the same reason that the compound has been shown effective in treating
people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Essentially, some
phobias, just like PTSD, manifest after a harrowing situation. The gist of
the research is that CBD, which has gained some notoriety as an
anxiety-squashing drug, was effective at preventing this fear from coming
to the surface.

“In the more translationally-relevant stronger conditioning setting, CBD
both acutely inhibited fear expression and enhanced extinction to produce
longer-lasting reductions in fear,” the study reads. “These observations
provide further support for the potential translational use of CBD in
conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and specific phobias.”

It is possible, considering this body of evidence, that phobia patients
might be able to contend with their fears with the use of medical
marijuana. Traditionally, these conditions have been dealt with by
prescribing beta-blockers, antidepressants and tranquilizers, but these
drugs can be habit-forming and make a person feel less human than an
irrational fear of anything. Still, it’s okay to be skeptical about the
power of cannabis when it comes to treating phobia cases. I am. I mean,
I’ve been pretty stoned in my day and never once was there a time when I
felt any less freaked out by the thought of a snake slithering up next to
me. And getting high and traveling to the top of the Empire State Building
last year, well, that just gave me vertigo and made the experience even
more frightening than it would have been under normal circumstances.
However, at its most basic level, some strains of marijuana (Somari, Super
Skunk Auto and Bigfoot) have been known to calm the anxiety that one
experiences when those phobias kick in. Our best advice is to check with
your budtender to find out what other fraidy cats are using to get through
the terror.

*TELL US,* have you ever used cannabis to deal with a terrifying fear?

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