• 18
  • January
    2012

When we think of people who would perhaps benefit from medical marijuana, we tend to think of people suffering from such debilitating illnesses as cancer, migraines or chronic pain. However, our definition may soon expand to include those people suffering from a devastating and now rapidly increasing mental illness.

A group of researchers with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) -- which works under the oversight of the University of Arizona College of Medicine -- is seeking to launch a groundbreaking study to examine the effect of medical marijuana on those combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The complex study, run primarily by Dr. Suzanne Sisley, would call for a group of 50 veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan war who are currently suffering from PTSD and whose treatments have proven ineffective.

These study participants would be required to avoid marijuana for 30 days prior to the study and would then be required to smoke/vaporize 1.8 grams of marijuana per day over the course of two 60-day trials. They would be provided each week with marijuana of varying THC levels.

"With this research, we can actually figure out which symptoms it might help with, and what an optimal dosing strategy might look like," said Dr. Sisley.

She also stressed that this clinical examination is designed to learn more about helping a segment of society that is truly at risk.

"If we get a chance to do this, we're not taking liberties," she said. "This is a carefully controlled, rigorous scientific study. We're not sitting around trying to get these vets high."

Interestingly, previous studies have shown that medical marijuana has proven effective in treating PTSD.

To illustrate, one study by researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel indicated that marijuana administered to rats within 24 hours of their enduring psychological trauma actually prevented the onset of PTSD.

According to supporters of Dr. Sisley, the need to study the potential benefit of medical marijuana in treating PTSD becomes all the more glaring when you consider the number of veterans currently suffering from the affliction and the thousands of others who will soon return home from deployment with the condition.

It is worth noting that one of the primary roadblocks to Dr. Sisley's study thus far has been the inability to secure marijuana. Here, she and her fellow researchers are waiting for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Public Health Service -- a division of the Department of Health and Human Services -- to agree to sell them marijuana or until they are granted legal permission to proceed.

What are your thoughts on this study?

Stay tuned for more developments from our Denver criminal defense blog ...

This post is provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Source:

The Atlantic, "The case for treating PTSD in veterans with medical marijuana" Jan. 17, 2012