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Study Evaluates Marijuana As A Treatment For Veterans With PTSD

A close up of a marijuana plant, highlighting its potential as a treatment option for veterans.
A close up of a marijuana plant, highlighting its potential as a treatment option for veterans._SCALED
Flickr Creative Commons

A new study, the first of its kind, is being conducted in order to evaluate the usefulness of marijuana as a treatment for PTSD in veterans.  The first participant was given cannabis on Monday according to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the organization conducting the experiment.

MAPS is a non-profit based in California which focuses its work on discovering the medical uses of marijuana.  This particular study has been offered a $2 million grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

As planned, the study will experiment with four different potency level of marijuana on 76 veterans who suffer from PTSD.  The goal is to come up with information about the effectiveness of the treatment and proper dosing.

They are recruiting any adult military veteran who experienced trauma during their military service.  They began screening to choose participants in January.

Those participants will be engaging in the study in two separate locations: in Phoenix, Arizona and in Baltimore, Maryland at John Hopkins University.  They will have to visit one of those locations 17 times in one week, including a follow-up visit after six months.

Marcel Bonn-Miller from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine is overseeing the project over the two study sites.  The researchers are hopeful that the study will provide valuable information to lawmakers and health-providers, as well as produce new options for veterans suffering from PTSD.  She stated in a release:

“As this is the first placebo-controlled trial of cannabis for PTSD, we are breaking important ground needs to identify improved treatment options for veterans with PTSD.”

Any veteran who is interested in volunteering to be a part of the clinical trial can use the following contact information:

Phoenix – [email protected]

Baltimore – (410)-550-0050”

Mac Jackman