New research published in the journal Psychopharmacology found that long-term users of marijuana have a blunted stress response when compared with non-users, Medical News Today reports.

This study is the first to show this effect by measuring salivary levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

When they compared the results from the non-users who completed the high-stress with those of the no-stress version of the test, the researchers found that the stress condition produced “significantly higher levels” of self-rated stress and salivary cortisol.

In contrast, the chronic marijuana users showed “blunted stress reactivity,” in that there was little difference in the cortisol levels between those who completed the high-stress and the no-stress versions of the test and there was only a small increase in the self-reported stress scores.

Read more at www.medicalnewstoday.com