Is Cannabis Good for Depression and Anxiety? What the Science Actually Says.

Millions of Americans use cannabis to manage anxiety and depression. Perceived risk is at an all-time low. And yet — the clinical evidence tells a very different story than the cultural narrative.

In this episode, clinical psychologist and addiction scientist Dr. Suzette Glasner breaks down three recent studies that every person using cannabis for mental health, every parent, and every clinician should know about. You can watch the full episode here:

A 2026 study followed nearly half a million adolescents and found that individuals who used cannabis had more than double the risk of developing psychosis and bipolar disorder — with cannabis use preceding the diagnosis by almost two years. A Lancet Psychiatry review published the same year found no convincing evidence that cannabis effectively treats anxiety, depression, or PTSD — the conditions Americans most commonly say they use it for. And the potency problem: the cannabis on dispensary shelves today — flower at 15-20%+ THC, concentrates up to 90%. This matters because it directly impacts the risk of psychiatric and medical complications.

Dr. Glasner also covers the conditions cannabis is FDA-approved to treat and why the answer surprises most people.

In this episode:

* Why perceived risk of cannabis has hit historic lows — and why that matters

* What cannabis is actually FDA-approved to treat vs. what people use it for

* The JAMA adolescent study: 463,000 teens followed over time

* The Lancet review: examining evidence for cannabis as mental health treatment

* Why potency matters

🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on addiction science and mental health.📩 Questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com🧩 drglasner.com

When Howie Mandel was a guest on the Howard Stern Show, he had a panic attack triggered by a door handle. He couldn’t bring himself to touch it. He tried to get someone else to open it — and when no one would, the OCD diagnosis he’d kept secret for decades slipped out on live radio, in front of millions of listeners.

He thought he was off the air. He wasn’t.

What happened next surprised him. A stranger stopped him on the street and said two words: I suffer from it too. That moment — realizing he wasn’t alone — changed his life.

In this episode, clinical psychologist and addiction scientist Dr. Suzette Glasner use Mandel’s story as a window into what OCD actually is, why it takes an average of nine years to get the right help, and a connection that rarely gets named: the overlap between OCD and addiction.

You can watch the full episode here:

The OCD-Addiction Connection

Alcohol. Cannabis. Whatever creates temporary relief from a brain that won’t stop. That is self-medication — and it is one of the most underrecognized consequences of untreated OCD.

Mandel has spoken openly about his own use of alcohol and cannabis to cope, including during the COVID pandemic, when contamination-based OCD became almost unbearable. He is not an outlier. Twenty-five to forty percent of people with OCD misuse substances at some point in their lives — three to six times the general population’s risk.

There’s one more piece of this that rarely makes it into the conversation: the role of family. Around 90 percent of families living with OCD accommodate it daily — repeating reassurances, spraying objects before they enter the house. Every act is driven by love. The research is consistent: the more accommodation, the more severe the OCD. Mandel’s wife Terry lived this for decades before drawing a clear, firm, loving line. The parallel to addiction enabling is direct — in both cases, absorbing the consequences of the condition delays the pressure that might otherwise drive someone toward help.

The good news is that OCD is treatable. With ERP — Exposure and Response Prevention — 60 to 80 percent of people respond. People in recovery from OCD describe it the same way people in recovery from addiction do: not the absence of the thought, but the absence of its power.

The nine-year gap doesn’t have to be your story.

🔍 Episode Breakdown

00:00 – Howie Mandel’s live-radio moment — and the stranger who changed everything

01:59 – Other public figures who’ve spoken out: Billy Bob Thornton, DiCaprio, Timberlake, Radcliffe

03:21 – What OCD actually is (and what it isn’t)

07:10 – The nine-year treatment gap - and why it exists

08:49 – The OCD-addiction connection: the self-medication loop

10:44 – Family accommodation and why love can prolong suffering

14:54 – What actually works: ERP, medication, and NOCD

18:10 – Three things to take with you

🧠 Key Takeaways

* OCD is a neurobiological condition driven by intrusive thoughts and compulsive relief behaviors.

* On average, nine years pass between onset and appropriate treatment, due to shame, misdiagnosis, and access barriers.

* 25–40% of people with OCD misuse or are addicted to substances — self-medication that provides brief relief and worsens the cycle long-term.

* Both conditions can and should be treated simultaneously — addressing one without the other significantly raises the risk of relapse.

* ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) produces a 60–80% response rate. Combined with medication, it’s the gold standard.

Listen to Episode 58 now to hear Howie Mandel’s story.

📩 Questions or topic suggestions? Email AskDrGlasner@gmail.com

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In this episode, Dr. Suzette Glasner examines a striking new finding from one of the largest health studies ever conducted: for the first time in recorded history, mental illness has become the leading cause of disability worldwide.

Drawing on a major analysis published in The Lancet that tracked mental disorders across 204 countries from 1990 to 2023, Dr. Glasner explains what researchers found, why anxiety and depression are driving much of the increase, and what this shift tells us about the state of global mental health today.

You can watch or listen to the full episode of The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast here:

The study found that approximately 1.17 billion people—roughly one in seven people worldwide—were living with a diagnosable mental disorder in 2023. Mental illness has now surpassed low back pain and other physical health conditions as the leading cause of years lived with disability, marking a profound change in the global burden of disease.

Dr. Glasner explores why adolescents, particularly those between the ages of 15 and 19, are experiencing the sharpest increases in anxiety and depression. She reviews the evidence surrounding smartphones and social media, sleep deprivation, the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the complex relationship between mental health and substance use. She also discusses psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s widely debated book The Anxious Generation and what current research supports—and does not yet support—about the role of technology in the youth mental health crisis.

Most importantly, Dr. Glasner highlights five evidence-based strategies that can help reduce the risk of anxiety and depression in young people, including improving sleep, increasing physical activity, strengthening in-person social connections, delaying substance use, and recognizing early warning signs before problems become more severe.

If you’re a parent, educator, healthcare professional, or simply someone trying to better understand the growing mental health challenges facing young people today, this episode provides a clear, science-based overview of one of the most important public health findings of the decade.

Thank you for being here and being part of this community.

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Have a question about today’s episode? Or a question you’d like me to cover in a future episode?

Email: askdrglasner@gmail.com