New research points to something measurable, and it may eventually give addiction treatment providers a physical marker to work with rather than self-report alone.
Researchers at Oregon State University found that adults who use cannabis frequently wake up with more cortisol circulating in their bodies than people who rarely use it or do not use it at all. Cortisol is a hormone made in the adrenal glands, and it is one of the body’s main chemical messengers for handling stress.
The study was led by Anita Cservenka, PhD, an associate professor and director of the Substance Use and Neurocognition Lab in the School of Psychological Science at Oregon State. It was published in the journal Cannabis, with co-authors Julia Donner and Alexia Obrochta.
What the Researchers Measured
The team focused on the cortisol awakening response, often shortened to CAR. Cortisol follows a daily rhythm. It drops overnight, climbs sharply on waking, and peaks roughly half an hour later.
Subtracting the waking measurement from the 30-minute measurement gives the CAR, which researchers treat as a marker of how well the body gears up for the day ahead.
Earlier work by other groups had suggested this morning rise is blunted in people with chronic cannabis use, and a 2026 study by Glodosky and colleagues pointed the same direction. Cservenka’s team set out to replicate that. They did not. The morning rise looked similar in both groups.
What separated them was where the rise started. According to Oregon State’s announcement of the study, the researchers compared 39 adults who used cannabis frequently against 43 people who used it rarely or not at all, collecting saliva samples on waking, 30 minutes later, and in the evening. The frequent-use group simply woke with more cortisol already in their systems.
Why the Starting Point Matters
The elevation was not an isolated curiosity. It correlated with cannabis use consequences, meaning the negative outcomes people reported from their own use.
“We found that the first cortisol measurement of the day is higher among individuals who engage in frequent cannabis use relative to controls and this was related to cannabis use consequences,” Cservenka told MedicalResearch.com.
That link is what gives the finding weight for addiction treatment. A biological measure that moves in step with real-world problems is more useful clinically than one that only separates users from non-users.
What This Means for Treatment Seekers
Cservenka was careful about causation. The study cannot say whether frequent cannabis use raises morning cortisol or whether people with higher morning cortisol are more likely to use cannabis frequently. Answering that would require following the same people over years.
For anyone researching treatment options right now, the practical takeaway is narrower and still useful. Stress and cannabis use appear to be entangled at a physiological level, not just a behavioral one.
Programs that treat cannabis use disorder alongside stress, anxiety, and sleep problems are addressing something the biology supports, and integrated mental health treatment is worth asking about during intake.
Cservenka also suggested the reverse could hold. Reducing the harms people experience from cannabis use might have knock-on benefits for their physiological stress systems, which would make consequence-focused treatment doubly worthwhile.
Where the Research Goes Next
Cservenka called for longitudinal studies that recruit adolescents or young adults before they have started frequent cannabis use, establishing what their stress hormone profiles look like at baseline and following them forward. That design would separate a predisposing trait from a consequence of use.
Until then, this is one study with a modest sample, and Cservenka framed the cortisol marker as a lead worth pursuing rather than a settled tool.
Finding the Right Rehab
If cannabis use is creating problems in your life, the consequences you can already name matter more than any lab value. Those consequences are what clinicians assess.
When comparing rehab centers, ask whether the program treats cannabis use disorder specifically rather than folding it into general substance use care.
Ask how they handle co-occurring anxiety, stress, and sleep difficulty, since this research suggests those systems are involved. Confirm what your insurance coverage for rehab includes before admission, and verify the facility’s credentials and licensing.
Rehab.com’s directory includes verified treatment centers you can filter by location, level of care, and accepted insurance. Call
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