Summary: CBS 4 Local reports on medical marijuana research, highlighting the MAPS-sponsored clinical study of medical marijuana as a treatment for symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 76 U.S. veterans. “The veterans will be tested in groups of four, therefore the study will take two years to complete,” explains Shelton Dodson of CBS 4 Local.
Originally appearing here.
Researchers in two states are looking for combat veterans to voluntarily test the effectiveness smoking marijuana has on treating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Military Times has posted a lengthy story on the planned research. It will take place at Sisley’s Scottsdale Research Institute in Phoenix and at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. A $2.2 million grant from the state of Colorado will pay for the study.
Researchers plan to test 76 combat veterans with PTSD over the course of 12 weeks. The veterans will be tested in groups of four, therefore the study will take two years to complete. Veterans will be required to smoke the equivalent of a two joints a day for the first two weeks. According to the Military Times, the veterans will then be randomly assigned to smoke only one of four types of marijuana for the following ten weeks:
– High levels of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that scientists believe acts on receptors in memory and fear processing centers of the brain, according to study documents.
– High levels of CBD, or cannabidiol, which studies suggest may provide an antidepressant-like effect and appears to play a role in reducing anxiety.
– An equal ratio of THC and CBD, which the Veterans Alliance for Medical Marijuana reports to study organizers is generally the favored composition among combat veterans who say they’re successfully using marijuana to relieve PTSD.
– A placebo with no significant levels of either THC or CBD.
The study could begin as early as September.