As cannabis products are easily accessible in Illinois for recreational or medical use, there are a variety of reasons why people choose to get high. Some might use it to ease stress and anxiety, while others choose to stay away from it to avoid inducing these feelings.

But no matter their reason to get high, every individual’s experience is unique and can sometimes differ from the one they desired.

A DePaul student named Griffin who didn’t feel comfortable sharing his last name for employment reasons, gets high occasionally, smoking either through a joint or a vape cartridge. Although he uses cannabis to relieve stress and body soreness, he says he frequently feels anxious when high.

“It happens sometimes, I don’t exactly know why. It could be the same scenario where I smoke and it’s fun, and the other day it kind of stresses me out about the work I could be doing,” he said.

To feel less anxious when he’s high, Griffin says he loves relaxing activities like “going on walks, getting out and moving or doing self care, showering, cleaning.”

A 2025 study conducted with over 460,000 adolescents aged 13 to 17 years who were universally screened for cannabis use by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found an association between young adults using cannabis and increasing their risk for anxiety, including psychotic, bipolar and depressive disorders by the age of 26. However, the study states that previous meta-analysis found no association between cannabis use and risk of anxiety.

Edward Bednarczyk, a clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Buffalo, emphasizes the importance of “doing the homework” and researching before consuming cannabis for the first time.

“It’s not that dangerous of a substance but you need to be aware,” he said. “Anxiety is a real effect that people can get from cannabis.”

However, Bednarczyk said that if you’re aware that being anxious is a possibility, that’s a great start.

“The best thing to do is start at a low dosage and make sure you can tolerate the weed well and increase your dosage over time if you’re finding it favorable,” he said.

He also pointed out that any individuals who have a history or family history of psychotic disorders should not be using cannabis, saying “the risks outweigh the benefits.”

“The more you know about the risks and all the things that go along with it, the safer and better you’ll be,” he said.

The 2025 study found the strength of the association between adolescent cannabis use and depressive and anxiety disorders decreased with age, no longer significant among young adults aged 21 to 25 years. According to JAMA, “the finding is consistent with other research suggesting that adolescence may be a particularly vulnerable period for cannabis-related psychopathology and may partially explain inconsistent findings with anxiety outcomes.”

Jo Gray, a DePaul student who uses cannabis, said when she used to live in Nashville, she’d get anxious when she was high. But she said she gets high now to alleviate anxiety.

“When I used to get anxious from smoking, I think that’s because of the people I was with or the setting I was in,” she said.

Cannabis is illegal in Tennessee, and Gray said that contributed to her anxiety when she would get high.

“We had to smoke in secret but now I don’t get anxious because you can sort of smoke anywhere in Chicago,” Gray said. “I really enjoy smoking alone and I figured that out and it’s not something I used to do, and I think that is my favorite way to smoke.”

Occasionally, she says she can get a “little scared” when she’s high, but she now finds it funny.

“I’m grounded enough and I’ve smoked enough to know I’m fine,” she said.

Bednarczyk attributes the general lack of knowledge regarding cannabis to its complex history, ranging from being used as rope during the Revolutionary War to its pharmaceutical applications to the 1960s hippie movement, when people began to realize “it’s not all that bad.”

However, Bednarczyk points out that on the federal level, cannabis is still classified as a Class One narcotic, meaning it’s recognized as having no benefit. He believes this classification could be a reason for the way it is perceived currently.

Bednarczyk believes that if state governments such as New York and Massachusetts sell alcohol in stores, then a similar system with oversight, regulation and safety can exist for cannabis.

While there are some people who only focus on marijuana’s benefits, he notes that “you can’t legitimately say that this is completely benign.” Bednarczyk emphasizes the nuance of both perspectives. “And you can’t say, ‘It’s the ‘devil’s weed,’ or ‘It’s the worst thing out there and if you have a puff you’ll be addicted from that point forward.’ But that’s the message that was being sent.

“Neither of those are correct.”

Related Stories:

• April Showers DeJamz
• Why cat adoptions are on the rise in Chicago
• Taking Pride in Every Shot: Queer archers find community at suburban range