Users of common drug wake with more hormone linked to anxiety and heart disease

Regular cannabis users wake up with more of the stress hormone cortisol in their system, according to new research. T he study suggests that while cannabis may appear to provide some short-term stress relief, its use might negatively affect stress-response systems over time - leading people into a cycle of more drug use.

Researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) found that people who often use cannabis start their day with higher levels of cortisol than people who don’t. They say their findings, published in the journal Cannabis, indicate a relationship between frequent use of the drug and a possible "dysregulation" of the body’s daily stress rhythms.

Cannabis is said to be the most commonly used illegal drug in the UK. About 6.8% of adults aged 16 to 59 use cannabis, according to Priory Group.

The study is one of the first to examine the link between frequent cannabis use and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the major system that governs the body’s response to stress. Study leader Associate Professor Anita Cservenka, of OSU's College of Liberal Arts, said: “We would need to study the same groups of people over a longer period of time to understand any cause and effect relationship, but we think this provides an important starting point."

Prof Cservenka said that hormones are the body’s chemical messengers and cortisol is a hormone produced in the adrenal glands. Nicknamed the “stress hormone” because it is released when people find themselves under pressure, cortisol assists in fighting infection, maintaining blood pressure and regulating blood sugar and metabolism.

Prof Cservenka says cortisol is beneficial for dealing with stress in the short term. But prolonged periods of high cortisol levels can have harmful effects on the body, such as an increased risk of anxiety, depression and heart disease.

Prof Cservenka and her colleagues centered their cannabis-cortisol study around what’s commonly known as CAR, or cannabis awakening response. She said: “CAR is the cortisol rise that all people experience in the morning, peaking around 30 minutes after they wake up."

CAR is calculated by measuring someone's cortisol right after they wake up, measuring it again 30 minutes later, then subtracting the first number from the second number. The difference is considered a marker of the body’s ability to prepare for the stressors of the day.

The research team found CAR to be similar among both cannabis users and non-users, but they found cannabis users had a higher "starting point" – waking up with more cortisol circulating through their bodies.