Should you blame cannabis for feeling boring?

Some people get a bout of the blues or blah. But there's not really any science to blame cannabis for anhedonia.

The blues, the blahs, the depression or just the feeling of sadness happens to many people. Relationship problems, bad news, stress and a lack of social contact opportunities appear again and again in the data as the main causes of bad moods. Almost everyone has felt “down” or had a case of the “blues.” In this state, you may have described yourself as depressed. But over 5% suffer from some form of clinical depression. But should we blame cannabis for making it feel boring? Marijuana contains components that make you happy when consumed in moderation, but it has a bad reputation.

There is a myth that cannabis use causes anhedonia. It is the inability to feel joy or pleasure. You may feel numb or less interested in things you used to enjoy. It is a common symptom of many mental illnesses such as depression. It is claimed that marijuana use causes this disease, but the facts do not support this statement.

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No one is advocating that those under 21 should consume marijuana or alcohol because the brain is still developing. However, marijuana has not actually been proven to cause depression, laziness, or a blockage of pleasure. Research has shown that THC in cannabis causes an increase in levels of dopamine, the pleasure chemical, in the brain. Used in moderation it can have a positive effect. And in the right dosage, it can also reduce anxiety, causing people to approach life more positively.

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The University of Cambridge has published a study showing that teenage cannabis users are no more likely to “lack motivation and the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life.” This shows that the stereotypical cannabis user often portrayed in the media is not based on science. The study was carried out by researchers from UCL, Kings College of London Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and the University of Cambridge. The results were published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. According to the research, regular cannabis users had slightly lower levels of anhedonia.

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Another study published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology showed a null association between anhedonia and regular cannabis use. The researchers used data from a previous study called the CannTeen study, which examined cannabis use among teenagers.

Researchers studied 274 participants, including adults (26-29 years old) and adolescents (16-17 years old). Participants were regular cannabis users who had used cannabis in the last three months, with an average consumption of four times per week. The Snaith Hamilton Pleasure Scale was used to measure anhedonia, while the Apathy Evaluation Scale was used to measure apathy.

The results showed that the control group (those who did not use cannabis or did not use it regularly) had higher levels of anhedonia. This was quite surprising and contradicted the popular belief that regular cannabis use weakens the joy of life.