The Effects of Medical Marijuana on PTSD

Medical marijuana has always been a more favourable option when compared with painkillers produced by Big Pharma. The side effects are less harmful, mainly reduced to a serious case of the munchies. Veterans have been reporting that a good nights sleep is something that seemed impossible until they discovered medical marijuana. This isn’t the case just in the US but all over the world as well. Every now and then a case pops up in court where a veteran was caught growing marijuana in his home or garden and unbelievably so – the judges let them off with a warning, even though most European countries haven’t legalized marijuana. This isn’t always the case unfortunately, and people suffering from PTSD still do end up in jail if caught possessing marijuana.

The Right To Grow

It should be noted that not only veterans could suffer from PTSD. Civilians suffer from the same disorder and sometimes that is even harder to prove. Being a citizen of a country that has gone to war doesn’t give you the right to just go ahead and plant fields of cannabis in your back yard. But most of all, this area of medical marijuana is heavily under researched. Fortunately, as awareness of medical marijuana has been spreading across the globe, so has the public opinion towards it. As more people support it, the market starts opening up and more funds are being poured into research.

For example, Canada is preparing to conduct research on medical marijuana effects on post-traumatic stress disorder. The study will take place in the town of Kelowna. It seems that this particular study will be focusing specifically on veterans. For instance, 40 men and women that have served in the military are eligible for the study, which should start in the summer 2015 and end sometime in 2016.

The Effects of PTSD

The effects of PTSD are quite debilitating and make it practically impossible for veterans to lead normal and productive lives. Clinical research might change and researchers are looking into getting some core data out of strains that contain more THC and CBD. Naturally, these percentages fluctuate from strain to strain so it will be interesting to see which strain is more beneficial to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms of PTSD are no joke. We already mentioned sleep disorders that stem from it but we’re not even scraping the surface with that one. Irritability is another issue that plagues the veterans and we’re not just talking about being annoyed in the way we usually lose our temper. When combined with extreme bouts of anger and range, irritability can lead to a nervous breakdown. Additionally, they also battle with depression, which is one of the most serious conditions that could stem from the battlefield since the images that are etched in your head while you’re there are really hard to erase. That is why they have flashbacks as well. Basically, when you combine all these together, it’s pretty easy to see why they can’t lead anything resembling a normal life. That is why veterans are pushing for medical marijuana to become a legitimate treatment option in the US as well.

by M.B