SynthesisDrug and alcohol dependence2022
The association between recreational cannabis use and posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and methodological critique of the literature.
Synthesis in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Unhealthy behaviors associated with mental health disorders: a systematic comparative review of diet quality, sedentary behavior, and cannabis and tobacco use.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Endocannabinoid and N-acylethanolamine concentrations in hair of female patients with posttraumatic stress disorder - associations with clinical symptoms and outcomes following multimodal trauma-focused inpatient treatment.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Article
- Prevalence, Associations and Comorbidity of Cannabis Use and Cannabis Use Disorders in the Australian National Mental Health Surveys From 2007 to 2020-22.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- The unique contributions of adverse childhood experiences to increases in post-traumatic stress symptoms and problematic substance use after trauma exposure.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Psychometric evaluation of a novel measure of trauma-related cannabis use to cope.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Article
- Post-Traumatic Stress in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Time Perspective Between Trauma Exposure, PTSD Symptoms, and Cannabis Use.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025Article
- Characterizing Engagement with Web-Based Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for Traumatic Stress and Substance Misuse After Interpersonal Violence.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- A remote measurement study of PTSD and cannabis use among veterans: Recruitment, retention, and data availability.PloS one · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between insomnia, cannabis use and stress among US veterans.Journal of sleep research · 2024Article
- Directional associations between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and cannabis use in young adults: Uncovering variation by sex, race, and ethnicity.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGiven recent changes in the legal status of cannabis, the risks and benefits associated with its use have become an important public health topic. A growing body of research has demonstrated that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and recreational cannabis use (RCU) frequently co-occur, yet findings are inconsistent (e.g., direction of effect) and methodological variability makes comparison across studies difficult.
methodsWe conducted a comprehensive systematic review of all studies (N = 45) published before May 2020 regarding etiologic models of co-occurring RCU and PTSD, as well as provided a methodological critique to inform suggestions for future research initiatives.
resultsFindings indicate that a majority of studies (n = 37) demonstrated a significant association between RCU and PTSD. Findings provide evidence for the self-medication and high-risk models posited to explain co-occurring RCU and PTSD despite variability in assessment of RCU, which includes commonly used non-standardized self-report questions.
conclusionThe association between RCU and PTSD is likely bidirectional. Results inform clinicians and researchers working in the mental health and cannabis use fields how the variability in findings on the association between RCU and PTSD may be attributable, in part, to methodological issues that permeate the extant literature pertaining to RCU and PTSD.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.