Cannabis For PTSD? Colorado Reconsiders Medical Marijuana Rules

[Jacob Redmond]

The Colorado Board of Health is considering adding post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of ailments eligible for treatment with medical marijuana.

If approved in a vote Wednesday, Colorado would become the 10th state to make PTSD a qualifying condition for medical pot. In addition, it would be the first condition added to Colorado's registry since voters approved medical marijuana 15 years ago.

The board has rejected PTSD petitions twice before, citing a lack of research. But this year, Dr. Larry Wolk, the state's chief medical officer, is recommending that PTSD be added on a four-year trial basis, so the outcome could change.

Wolk testified last year against such a move but now says his mind was changed by overwhelming evidence that people with PTSD have already been listed on the registry after citing severe pain as their ailment.

"We don't want people to suffer as a result of not being able to access (the registry) honestly," Wolk said earlier this year.

Colorado allows adults over 21 to buy recreational pot, with no doctor's recommendation needed. But medical pot is taxed at 2.9 percent, compared to at least 19 percent for recreational pot.

In addition, medical patients are allowed to possess twice as much marijuana - 2 ounces instead of 1 ounce.

Colorado had about 113,000 people on the medical marijuana registry in May, the most recent data available. About 6,300 were under 21.

Patients must get a doctor's recommendation for using pot to treat one of eight debilitating conditions, ranging from cancer and AIDS to severe pain and nausea. More than 93 percent of current patients list severe pain as their condition.

Colorado assembled a panel of doctors and medical marijuana advocates last year to review studies about the drug's medical potential. The new Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council made its PTSD recommendation in April, saying the ailment could be added for a four-year trial.

Colorado has provided about $3.4 million for two medical studies involving the use of pot for treatment of PTSD. Those studies are just getting underway.

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[Cannabelle]

The U.S. Veteran's Administration has been studying marijuana for quite some time as a drug with both negative consequences and positive outcomes. The testing data can be procured through the VA.

The negative consequences findings from the VA stem from the antiquated propaganda that marijuana is a dangerous, illegal substance as opposed to prescription anti-psychotics that are dispensed like candy but cause a degenerative neural disorder called tardive dyskinesia. My husband was treated by VA doctors for psychotic disorders with anti-psychotics and developed TD tremors and severe sluggishness which was more akin to a Romero shuffler zombie than the stoner hippie type which the American government fears more.

I prefer to be married to a happy, cuddly stoner hippie than a George Romero shuffler zombie.

As for real scientific evidence, this is what the VA says about marijuana as PTSD treatment:

Neurobiology

Research has consistently demonstrated that the human endocannabinoid system plays a significant role in PTSD. People with PTSD have greater availability of cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors as compared to trauma-exposed or healthy controls (13,14). As a result, marijuana use by individuals with PTSD may result in short-term reduction of PTSD symptoms. However, data suggest that continued use of marijuana among individuals with PTSD may lead to a number of negative consequences, including marijuana tolerance (via reductions in CB1 receptor density and/or efficiency) and addiction (15). Though recent work has shown that CB1 receptors may return after periods of marijuana abstinence (16), individuals with PTSD may have particular difficulty quitting (17).
Marijuana as a Treatment for PTSD

The belief that marijuana can be used to treat PTSD is limited to anecdotal reports from individuals with PTSD who say that the drug helps with their symptoms. There have been no randomized controlled trials, a necessary "gold standard" for determining efficacy. Administration of oral CBD has been shown to decrease anxiety in those with and without clinical anxiety (18). This work has led to the development and testing of CBD treatments for individuals with social anxiety (19), but not yet among individuals with PTSD. With respect to THC, one open trial of 10 participants with PTSD showed THC was safe and well tolerated and resulted in decreases in hyperarousal symptoms (20).

Source: Marijuana Use and PTSD among Veterans - PTSD: National Center for PTSD

 

[Jacob Redmond]

UPDATE

The council has rejected adding PTSD to the list of qualifying illnesses for medical marijuana. They cited "lack of research" as the primary reason. Just another time the schedule 1 classification kills a positive movement.

 

[Happy Hemper]

Of course they did, If CO cleared MMJ for PTSD that would create problems for the VA and by extension the FEDs.