Could cannabis be the answer for treating PTSD?
As the federal prohibition on cannabis for medical use continues to deny crucial access to our veterans, there is one area in which they are disproportionately suffering: the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs currently rejects “marijuana” as a “safe and effective” treatment for PTSD, but a new Israel-based clinical study by Tikun Olam, one of the first and largest of its kind, finally has the hard data to show exactly the opposite.
Tikun Olam–Israel’s largest supplier of medical cannabis whose renowned and pioneering strains are newly available in the United States–has just analyzed the results of its scientific study of hundreds of PTSD patients in Israel. The results show cause for the VA to reevaluate its rationale for continuing to deny vets this crucial medicine.
It only takes a quick glance on some key takeaways from Tikun’s raw data (all patients were treated with Tikun™ strains, with the delivery method of their choice) to call the VA’s and the federal government’s stance into question:
● Before starting cannabis treatment, the overwhelming majority of respondents reported severe PTSD symptoms, including “daily rage attacks,” “daily averse memories,” and “recurring pain”; all of the respondents were medically diagnosed with PTSD; 79% had PTSD as the primary indication for cannabis treatment; 70% were taking other prescription medications daily; and over 73% reported “bad” or “very bad” quality of life (only 2% reported “very good” quality of life, with only slightly more, 7.2%, reporting “good”)
● After one month of cannabis treatment, over 84% reported unqualified improvement overall
● After six months of cannabis treatment, more than half (53.6%) reported decreasing their other daily medications;and 88% reported no negative side effects.
And, perhaps most significant, the proportionate responses addressing quality of life completely reversed–with now more than 80% of respondents now reporting a “very good” or “good” quality of life, and only 1.2% reporting “very bad”.
This is just more evidence that medical cannabis does work for medical conditions, such as PTSD, and should be legalized and regulated everywhere. Cannabis prohibition is only hindering progress in the medical field.
Tikun Olam (“repair the world” in Hebrew) is the world’s leading cannabis brand and globally recognized as the pioneer of modern medical cannabis. Operating as a commercial venture for over 10 years, Tikun Olam’s products have been used since 2010 in ongoing clinical trials in Israel’s regulated medical cannabis market, treating over 10,000 patients for a variety of symptoms of medical conditions such as Cancer, PTSD, AIDS, epilepsy, Crohn’s Disease/Colitis, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, chronic pain and neuropathy. Through this access to patients, medical personnel and data collection, Tikun Olam has developed multiple proprietary strains, including the first-ever, high-CBD, “high-less” strain Avidekel™, its popular high-THC strain Alaska™, and its “one-to-one” CBD/THC strain Midnight™.
