We have written several articles about the effects of CBD and marijuana in relation to health conditions and now it appears that those with post-traumatic stress disorder might also see benefits.
According to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, patients suffering from PTSD who used marijuana displayed reduced symptoms over time compared to those who do not.
The term, used or consumed, related to the use of consumption of dried flower they purchased from a state-legal medical marijuana dispensary. For the purposes of the study researchers from John Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the University of Colorado School of Medicine compared symptoms of those with post-traumatic stress who used cannabis and those who did not over a twelve-month period.
According to the results those in the study who consumed marijuana, primarily THC-dominant cannabis, reported a greater reduction in PTSD symptom severity over time compared to those who did not use marijuana. By the end of the 1-year follow-up assessment users also showed a greater than two-fold rate of remission from their PTSD diagnosis (defined by no longer meeting criteria for a PTSD diagnosis on the CAPS-5) compared to non-users.
A total of 150 participants (of which 73% were male) were enrolled in the study. Over the course of 1 year, they were evaluated every 3 months. There were two samples of participants diagnosed with PTSD: (1) those with PTSD using dispensary-obtained cannabis (cannabis users) and (2) those with PTSD, who do not use cannabis (controls).
The cannabis users reported a greater decrease in PTSD symptom severity over time compared to controls. Participants who used cannabis were 2.57 times more likely to no longer meet DSM-5 criteria for PTSD at the end of the study observation period compared to participants who did not use cannabis (95%).
Whilst this study was limited in the number of participants the results seem to indicate that the types of cannabis available in recreational and medical cannabis dispensaries might hold promise as an alternative treatment for PTSD, and indeed a more successful outcome than current traditional treatments.
As marijuana becomes increasingly available as more states legalize the use for both medical and recreational purposes it becomes clear that much more research into the benefits needs to be carried out. What is required is the legalization at the federal level which would then enable research to be funded and expanded to cover other conditions that might also benefit from treatment with cannabis and or CBD
You can read a more technical report here
