Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder and Panic Attacks with Full Spectrum Medical Cannabis Leaf Extract Tincture: A Case Report

2 Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a psychiatric disorder which is characterized 3 by excessive fear of social situations like public speaking and interacting with new people, 4 and affects 5-10% of people globally. SAD is treated with medications like serotonin reuptake 5 inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants, which are efficacious but have side effects like weight 6 gain and sexual dysfunction. Thus, research on alternative approaches like medical cannabis 7 is increasing. This case report aims to show the efficacy of full-spectrum medical cannabis 8 leaf extract tincture oil for the treatment of SAD and panic attacks. 9 Case presentation: We present the case of a male patient, 29 years old, with severe social 10 anxiety disorder patient who has experienced panic episodes for six to eight years. The patient 11 experienced avoidance behaviours, intense fear of negative evaluation, and distress in social 12 situations, which are consistent with the diagnostic criteria for SAD. The patient was 13 prescribed 4-5 drops of Vijaya Amrit sublingually (a full-spectrum medical cannabis leaf 14 extract) at bedtime, along with meditation and aerobic exercises for two months. The 15 Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and the Panic Disorder Severity Scale were used to analyse 16 the improvement in the symptoms and address the condition. 17 Conclusions: After 2 months of treatment with full-spectrum Vijaya Amrit, the Liebowitz 18 Social Anxiety Scale score decreased by 62% from 101 (recorded on Day 1) to 38, and the 19 Panic Disorder Severity Scale score decreased by 72% from 25 (recorded on Day 1) to 7, 20 indicating that the patient has mild social anxiety and has experienced substantial alleviation 21 of panic symptoms after treatment. Thus, using full-spectrum Vijaya Amrit helped in 22 relieving the patient’s social anxiety and panic disorder symptoms.