Cannabis Use is Related to Anhedonia in Adolescents With Diverse Mood and Anxiety Symptoms.
JAACAP open December 1, 2025 Tram N B Nguyen, Benjamin A Ely, Aria Vitale et al.
Adolescents with depression who use cannabis experience worse anticipatory anhedonia—a reduced ability to anticipate pleasure—compared to those who never used or tried cannabis only once. In a sample of 153 adolescents (average age 15.9 years, 64% female) with mood and anxiety symptoms, 49 reported cannabis use. More frequent cannabis use was linked to greater anticipatory anhedonia. Those diagnosed with cannabis use disorder also reported higher depression and anxiety. The findings highlight the need to detect and treat anhedonia in youth using cannabis, especially as cannabis policies change.