There is a whole lot evidence across the country that cannabis and ptsd go hand-in-hand. But while studies point out the prevalence of marijuana abuse among PTSD patients, a minority of emerging research is looking at the question in reverse: Can cannabis be an effective treatment for PTSD?

Living with PTSD

PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety condition caused by disturbing episodes, like military combat or sexual assault. Three classes of symptoms characterize PTSD: re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyper arousal (e.g. insomnia, flashbacks). The persistence of PTSD over time is attributed to changes in brain chemistry that occur at the time of trauma, when adrenaline and stress hormones are hyper responsive.

Not all PTSD sufferers have access to legal medical cannabis due to the state they live it. Combat veterans have an especially high propensity for PTSD, and statistics show that about 1 in 5 military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan experience it. Since cannabis is a Schedule II drug, veterans are instead steered towards antidepressants and antipsychotics, medications that have had very little success in treating PTSD symptoms.

How Cannabis Can Help Treat PTSD

There are currently no specialized, effective medications available for PTSD patients. However, new discoveries in the endocannabinoid system is paving the way of understanding and treating PTSD.

One investigator of PTSD and cannabis is the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Martin Lee, a MAPS affiliate and director of Project CBD, has studied PTSD and cannabinoids in depth.

“Researchers found that people with PTSD had lower levels of anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid compound, compared to those who did not show signs of PTSD,” Lee wrote, “Innate to all mammals, anandamide (our inner cannabis, so to speak) triggers the same receptors that are activated by THC and other components of the marijuana plant.”

In short, one pillar of PTSD is an endocannabinoid deficiency: the body stops producing enough endocannabinoids to fill receptor sites, and this is where the cannabinoids found in marijuana play a therapeutic role. By replenishing these missing endocannabinoids with those found in marijuana, researchers think marijuana pharmaceuticals might bring PTSD patients relief from their memories.

“Scientists have determined that normal CB-1 receptor signaling deactivates traumatic memories and endows it with the gift of forgetting,” Lee said, “But skewed CB-1 signaling, due to endocannabinoid deficits (low serum levels in anandamide), results in impaired fear extinction, aversive memory consolidation, and chronoc anxiety, the hallmarks of PTSD.”

Accessing Medical Marijuana for PTSD

PTSD patients are advised to firstly consult with a medical professional befor treating symptoms with cannabis. Consumers not used to marijuana may find that THC aggravates anxiety symptoms. Cannabidiol (CBD), is a cannabinoid that counteracts some of THC’s effects, including paranoia and anxiety. Further research examining the relationship between THC and CBD could lead to more tolerable variants of cannabis pharmaceuticals for individuals suffering from severe anxiety.

The damage caused by PTS cannot be fully recovered by any medication, but for some, cannabis provides relief when nothing else can. Despite a strong need to develop more effective medication without adverse side effects, the promising pharmaceutical possibilities in cannabis are continually dismissed by government-backed research organizations, due to the plant’s Schedule II rating. However, forward momentum builds as education about cannabis’ healing properties spreads.

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At this moment in th United States, there are 25 states (including Washington D.C.) that have legalized medical cannabis. That number is likely to grow as more and more states consider making changes to their marijuana laws. Even though it hasn’t been legalized in every state, there’s been enough medical cannabis activity to see what the medical marijuana landscape looks like for certain health conditions.

There have been a couple of important surveys this year that have shed light on how medical marijuana is is used by patients. The first survey was conducted by Hello MD and it was published in January. This particular one was sent to 17,000 medical marijuana patients, but only 1,400 of them responded.

The second survey was published more recently by Marijuana Business Daily. It used data from patients in states that publicly release this kind of data, such as Arizona, New Jersey and Oregon to name a few.

Using these surveys, here are the health conditions most frequently being treated with medical cannabis.

Top 10 Health Conditions Treated With Medical Cannabis

1. Pain
2. Anxiety and Stress
3. Insomnia
4. Depression
5. Severe Nausea
6. Migraines
7. Arthritis
8. Cancer
9. PTSD
10. Epilepsy

There are tons of other conditions that are being treated, that wasn’t included in the list. These include Multiple Sclerosis, Glaucoma and Parkinson’s disease.

Issues Facing Medical Cannabis Patients

The surveys highlight a broad range of health conditions currently being treated with cannabis. Despite all this, there are a few challenges facing the medical marijuana community.

The most obvious one is that medical cannabis isn’t legal in every state. It depends on where you live. This is a reason why waves of people are moving to states where they can get medical cannabis. A term “marijuana refugees” have surfaced and refer to individuals who travel to places in search of medical marijuana.

The other big issue is that not all health conditions can be treated with cannabis. Most states with medical marijuana programs have limited lists of conditions that qualify for it.If your illness isn’t on the list, you simply won’t be able to use it.

The good news is that a lot of states have started adding conditions to their list of illnesses. An example would be New Jersey which added PTSD to its list of qualifying conditions during last month.

The fact, however, remains that most medical marijuana states haven’t made cannabis accessible to any and all health conditions. This limits the degree to which people can use cannabis for medical reasons.

Beyond all that, there are also restrictions that can make it challenging for researchers to study medical cannabis. And some states only let patients use particular types of medical cannabis products. In New York, for example, patients are not allowed to use smokable marijuana, and they can only get certain types of extracts.

The Point

As these patient surveys revealed, medical cannabis is currently being used to treat a wide raange of health conditions. There are still legal challenges if medical cannabis usage is to become more widespread.

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