Budney and colleagues showed that psychopathology measured on symptom scales was related to cannabis withdrawal 19 in patients seeking treatment for marijuana problems, but no previous studies addressed the relationship of cannabis withdrawal to DSM-IV disorders. We studied primary major depression, generalized anxiety and panic disorder because their symptoms partially overlap with cannabis withdrawal symptoms. We studied personality disorders because this has not been done before and the high prevalence of personality disorders in “healthy” volunteers for research studies 27 may have influenced earlier findings. The association of primary panic disorder or major depression with cannabis depression/anxiety withdrawal symptoms suggests possible common vulnerability, meriting further investigation. The association of personality disorders with depression/anxiety but not weakness withdrawal symptoms in the subsample suggests further study of weakness symptoms in participants screened for personality as well as Axis I psychopathology, as weakness withdrawal symptoms may emerge more among individuals without personality disorders, and prior laboratory and prospective studies screened for Axis I psychopathology only.
