Frequent cannabis use was associated with higher cortisol upon waking, suggesting a possible disruption of daily stress rhythms.
The body’s stress system follows a daily rhythm, and frequent cannabis users may begin that cycle differently. Research from Oregon State University found that people who use cannabis often wake with higher cortisol levels than nonusers, pointing to a possible disruption in the body’s normal stress patterns.
The findings were published in the journal Cannabis.
Stress is one of the main reasons people report using cannabis, and it is also associated with problematic use. Although cannabis may ease stress in the short term, frequent use could gradually interfere with the biological systems that manage the stress response.
The study tests a key stress system
Led by Anita Cservenka of the OSU College of Liberal Arts, the research is among the few studies examining how frequent cannabis use relates to the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, the body’s main neuroendocrine system for responding to stress.
The question has become increasingly relevant as cannabis use rises among young adults in the United States. Twenty-nine percent of adults ages 19 to 30 reported using cannabis during the previous 30 days, nearly twice the proportion recorded 15 years earlier. More than 10% said they had used cannabis at least 20 times in 30 days, over double the percentage reported 15 years ago, according to the scientists.
Cservenka cautioned that the findings cannot establish whether frequent cannabis use causes elevated cortisol upon waking or whether people with higher morning cortisol are more likely to use cannabis frequently.
“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,” she said.
Morning cortisol tracks daily stress readiness
Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands and acts as one of the body’s chemical messengers.
Often called the “stress hormone,” cortisol is released during periods of pressure. It also helps the body fight infection, regulate blood pressure, and manage blood sugar and metabolism.
A temporary rise in cortisol can help the body respond to immediate stress. Persistently high levels, however, may have damaging effects and have been associated with increased risks of anxiety, depression, and heart disease.
Cservenka and OSU colleagues Julia Donner and Alexia Obrochta focused their investigation on the cortisol awakening response, commonly known as CAR.
“CAR is the cortisol rise that all people experience in the morning, peaking around 30 minutes after they wake up,” Cservenka said.
To calculate CAR, researchers measure a person’s cortisol immediately after waking and again 30 minutes later. Subtracting the first measurement from the second provides an indicator of how the body prepares to manage the day’s anticipated demands.
Users begin the day with more cortisol
Cannabis users and nonusers showed similar increases in cortisol after waking. The difference appeared at the starting point, with frequent cannabis users already having more cortisol circulating in their bodies when they woke.
“Our research suggests cortisol levels upon awakening may serve as a neurobiological marker of problematic cannabis use, and that connection needs to be investigated further,” Cservenka said. “Earlier studies by other researchers found CAR to be blunted in frequent cannabis users, but we didn’t replicate that finding, which suggests there is a lot of nuance that could be related to analytic strategies and sample characteristics.”
Cservenka said the results are consistent with the possibility that frequent cannabis users experience disruptions in their daily stress rhythms. An altered stress system could also contribute to a cycle in which individuals increasingly turn to cannabis, although longer-term research is needed to test that possibility.
Reference: “Subjective Stress and Diurnal Salivary Cortisol in Adults with Frequent Cannabis Use” by Julia Donner, Alexia N. Obrochta and Anita Cservenka, 9 June 2026, Cannabis.
DOI: 10.26828/cannabis/2026/000390
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