A study conducted by Oregon State University researchers published in Human Psychopharmacology examined the acute effects of high-potency cannabis consumption on emotion regulation. The findings indicated that smoking cannabis flower does not interfere with emotion regulation.
The pilot study included 12 young adult cannabis users. The participants ranged from ages 21–30 and averaged consuming cannabis flower at least 1 day per week over the past year. The participants supplied their own cannabis and consumed it while observed by the researchers via videoconferencing.
The participants completed measures of emotional regulation while sober and then after consuming cannabis. This step involved completing the Emotional Go/No-Go Task to evaluate implicit emotion regulation and a cognitive reappraisal task to gauge explicit emotion regulation. The Emotional Go/No-Go Task is often used to assess emotional processing in healthy adults and individuals with affective disorders. This test measures various emotional cues and cognitive inhibition skills and is often used to assess impulsivity. For the procedural step of determining emotion regulation while intoxicated, the researchers observed the participants while they consumed cannabis and their behavior during the ensuing intoxication period.
The participants reported increased positive mood and decreased anxiety while intoxicated. The researchers did not find evidence that acute high-potency cannabis impacted the participants' implicit or explicit emotion regulation task performance. Analysis showed participants performed the emotion regulation tasks similarly, whether sober or under the influence.
This study provides valuable insights into how cannabinoids influence emotion regulation mechanisms. Additional research studies are critical for understanding how cannabis can potentially enhance physiological, behavioral, and cognitive processes involved in emotion regulation. Previous studies have reflected mixed results on how cannabis impacts emotion regulation, so future studies should explore the role of factors such as dosing and different routes of administration that might also influence emotion regulation.
Sources: Human Psychopharmacology, NORML
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