Smoking dried hemp in combination with tobacco is common, not only among recreational cannabis users, but also among people who smoke dried CBD or medical cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The harmful effects of tobacco on the respiratory system are obvious to everyone these days. New scientific studies indicate the adverse effects of the combination of tobacco and dried hemp on mental health.

Tobacco and dried hemp

Tobacco and cannabis are among the most widely used substances in the world, and their simultaneous use is becoming more common. This is due to the greater availability of dried CBD and medical marijuana and the growing number of countries legalizing the recreational use of THC-containing cannabis. 

No one is likely to need convincing about the harmfulness of smoking and passive inhalation of tobacco smoke, but for the sake of order we will quote numbers. Tobacco smoke has been on the WHO list of carcinogens for several decades. According to current data, smoking accounts for 25% of all cancer deaths worldwide and is the leading cause of lung cancer. 

This remains an important public health issue in Europe, where an estimated 186 million people (i.e., 26% of the adult population) currently use tobacco. For men, smoking causes 92% cases of tracheal, bronchial and lung cancer; for women, the rate is 62%. The lifetime risk of lung cancer in smokers is up to 22 times higher compared to non-smokers.

It turns out that in addition to its carcinogenic effects, tobacco combined with hemp can also have other adverse consequences. This is especially true of the simultaneous smoking of a mixture of dried hemp and tobacco, but also the smoking of one substance immediately after the other, as well as the use of both substances in parallel at certain short intervals, is not negligible.

Combining tobacco and dried hemp raises anxiety and depression levels 

Study published in the open-access journal PLOS in September 2023, indicates an association between concurrent tobacco and cannabis use and elevated levels of anxiety and depression. 

Analyzing data from the Citizens Health Study on COVID-19, the researchers looked at the substance use habits of 53,843 American adults between 2020 and 2022, and found that people who used tobacco and cannabis at the same time were almost twice as likely to develop depressive and anxiety conditions as those who did not use these substances at all.

4.9% of participants reported smoking only tobacco, 6.9% reported smoking only THC-containing cannabis, and 1.6% reported concurrent use of both substances. Among those in the group using cannabis with THC and tobacco simultaneously, 26.5% reported anxiety, and 28% reported depression. In contrast, among those who smoked neither tobacco nor cannabis with THC, the percentages of anxiety and depression were 10.6% and 11.2%.

Using only THC-containing cannabis was also associated with a greater likelihood of anxiety, compared to using tobacco alone.

Does smoking dried hemp raise anxiety levels?

The answer to this question is complex and depends on the concentration of the individual cannabinoids in dried hemp As well as the amount of dry burned. At the same time, it is both the amount smoked at one time and the frequency of use dried hemp.

THC and anxiety and depression

Linking the use of THC with anxiety is nothing new. In the scientific literature, one can find both studies showing anti-anxiety effects THC, as well as those that describe the severity of anxiety symptoms in users of this cannabinoid. Subsequent analyses of the studies show that both of these theses are true, because the key in this context is the dose of the psychoactive cannabinoid.

• Low doses of THC, administered at a frequency scheduled individually with a doctor, relieve stress and reduce anxiety, especially social anxiety. Even low doses of this cannabinoid may require a gradual building of tolerance to its effects before the patient or client gets on the recommended therapeutic dose.
• High doses of THC can contribute to increased anxiety and depressive symptoms, especially if the cannabinoid is taken uncontrollably at high frequency. 

CBD and anxiety and depression

CBD, as a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, relieves anxiety, stress and has a mood-stabilizing effect in every dose studied so far - it may help depressed individuals. 

• Two studies conducted in 1974 and 1982 showed that the CBD reduces anxiety caused by taking THC.
• A 1993 study found lower levels of anxiety in people who took CBD and then performed a public speaking test.
• Participants in a small study published in 2003 said they felt less anxious after taking CBD than those who took a placebo.
• Two studies published in 2011 showed that CBD reduces symptoms In individuals, 

diagnosed with social phobia.

• A study published in 2019 found that CBD works better than a placebo in adolescents suffering from social anxiety.
• In a study published in 2022, young people in whom standard anti-anxiety drugs did not work satisfactorily showed improvement after supplementing with CBD therapies.
• Results from the first phase of an ongoing study using CBD and other cannabinoids published in 2022 showed that hemp seed Can relieve symptoms within 4 weeks of use.