German Researchers Prove Effectiveness of Medical Cannabis in Treating Depression

German scientists have published the results of a study demonstrating that cannabis is an effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD).

Cannabis Significantly Helped Half of the Patients

The clinical trial recruited 59 individuals diagnosed with MDD who had previously been treated with antidepressants. Over an 18-week period, participants used cannabis and underwent tests to assess the severity of their symptoms. After analyzing the data, the researchers reached two key conclusions:

• The severity of depression symptoms decreased by an average of 45% after 18 weeks of cannabis therapy.
• In 51% of volunteers, the intensity of symptoms dropped by 50% or more.

Cannabis was also found to be relatively safe, as only 22% of participants stopped taking cannabinoids during the study, and one-third reported mild or moderate side effects. However, the researchers caution that long-term cannabis use carries a risk of dependency, so its use is not without dangers.

Jorial Wickmann, director of Algea Care (whose employees participated in the study), commented: “The results are encouraging and provide further evidence that medical cannabis should be considered for treating mental health disorders. This work also lays the foundation for future research on the effects of cannabis in patients with mental health conditions.”

Rising Demand for Medical Cannabis

Co-founder of the German cannabis company Bloomwell Group, Niklas Kouparanis, highly values the therapeutic potential of cannabis and predicts a growing number of medical cannabis users. He believes that increased demand will be driven by scientific publications demonstrating the healing properties of cannabis and by progressive government policies in Germany.

According to Statista, since the legalization of medical cannabis in 2017, the number of Germans treated with cannabis has increased more than tenfold, reaching 6.7 million people by 2022. This figure includes both those who used cannabis with a prescription and those who used it without one. Most commonly, Germans use cannabis to treat pain, sleep disorders, stress, and depression.

Statistics show a rapid increase in demand for legal medical cannabis in Germany. From 2018 to 2022, the volume of trade in cannabinoid-based medicines grew nearly elevenfold, reaching 797 million euros ($77.6 billion rubles). The country sells a large amount of imported medical cannabis. In 2022, Germans imported 27.6 tons of medical cannabis, more than 15 times the amount recorded in 2017.