This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Neighbor News

Fda-Regulated Study For Using Marijuana To Treat PTSD in Vets

Marijuana To Treat PTSD in Vets is on the rise and so is treatment in Austin Texas.

cannabis
cannabis

The study, conducted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and published March 17 in the journal PLOS ONE, shows that participants who use a combination of THC, CBD, and CBD - the active ingredient in marijuana - experience improvements in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the study authors, a placebo-controlled double study with veterans diagnosed with PTSD showed a significant improvement in PTSD symptoms in those who received at least one dose of cannabis and one placebo. The peer-reviewed paper compares two separate studies, one from the University of California, San Diego, and the other from Harvard Medical School, with PLoS One. Neither study found any improvement in symptoms or even overall mental health.

A fourth group, which also reported improvements, took a placebo for at least one dose of THC, CBD, and CBD - the active ingredient in marijuana - and a placebo.

T.H., or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient of cannabis strains that produce a euphoric, high effect. CBD or cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant and not a THC component.

Find out what's happening in Austinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

CBD - Only products are used in many states for medical, therapeutic and recreational uses, both medical and therapeutic or recreational.


Also, cannabis users were more likely to fail to meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD than those who did not use cannabis. However, the latest version of the study did not use placebo control, and Bonn-Miller said the next step would be to conduct a larger randomized placebo-controlled trial that would help determine whether minimally effective doses of THC are needed for safe treatment of people with PTSD while reducing the risk of cannabis dependence in high-risk groups. This is the first randomized, placebo-controlled study comparing the effects of CBD and THC on PTSD symptoms in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), "he said.

Find out what's happening in Austinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

One of the most significant benefits of this study is that PTSD veterans can use cannabis in self-administered doses and experience a plethora of side effects and worsening symptoms, "he said. Loflin added that worsening symptoms and side effects are often the reason medical providers are reluctant to prescribe cannabis for PTSD treatment Austin Tx.

Federal laws prohibit the possession and sale of cannabis, while both the Defense Department and the Veterans Administration prohibit the use of prescription cannabis. Marijuana has been legalized in more than half of the U.S. states and in Washington, D.C., and it is legal in 11 states. The VA estimates that up to 1.5 million veterans and active-duty conscripts have PTSD.

To conduct an FDA-approved study on cannabis or any other psychoactive substance covered by the criminal code, explicit approval is required, and the substance must be obtained through federal channels. This will limit the number of people who can take this substance, "said MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin.

The study took seven years to obtain approvals that cost $2.2 million, Doblin said, comparing it to information from hiring contracts. The difference between anecdotal reports and the results could be the quality of marijuana. A U.S. soldier walks past a marijuana pharmacy on the outskirts of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on August 1, 2014.

In the USA, high-quality cannabis is available with medical and commercial means and is not approved for regulated research due to federal restrictions. The study examined 8,505 cannabis products from 653 dispensaries. It showed no difference in quality between samples used in the placebo-controlled MAPS study, published this week, and those in the 2020 paper, also published in PLOS One. In 2020, the study was outlined in an essay also published in PLOS ONE, Doblin said.

MAP has already researched the use of MDMA, a substance commonly found in the party drug ecstasy to treat PTSD. The May 2018 study of the organization included a two-day psychotherapy, in which MDMA was treated with two doses of cannabis and one dose of THC, the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis. After a one-month follow-up period, 68 percent of participants reported that their PTSD symptoms had been effectively eliminated.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Austin