This new year marks the beginning of a new era in Arizona’s medical marijuana community. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) became a qualifying condition for the state’s Medical Marijuana program as of Jan. 1 after more than two years of legal battles between the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Cannabis Nurses Association (CNA) led by Heather Manus. This momentous occasion represents the first time a condition has been added to the program narrowly passed by Arizona voters in 2010.
The PTSD medical marijuana research championed by former UA researcher Sue Sisley is now set to move forward in Colorado. However, here in Arizona, despite Sisley’s research to treat veterans with PTSD, the state is moving forward to allow medical marijuana for those diagnosed with the condition.
PTSD becomes the first mental health condition approved for medical cannabis in our state. Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble added an unusual caveat to the approval of PTSD: he is requiring that a physician writing a recommendation also certify that the patient is receiving conventional treatment for their PTSD. This additional requirement of the patient and physician relationship is unique within the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, because no other condition has such a stipulation and legal challenges to the requirement have been filed by Ken Sobol, pro bono attorney for the CNA. The conventional treatment required can be “talk therapy” but often is pharmaceuticals such as antidepressants, mood stabilizers and anti-anxiety products.
“Conventional” treatments have demonstrated limited success treating mental illness and often come with unwanted side effects. When a person suffers from PTSD they feel out of control of their behaviors; they sometimes hear voices; they suffer from hyper-arousal, have flashbacks, sweats, and panic attacks. It truly is a debilitating condition. Those that have found their way to cannabis report a quieting of the voices, an inner peace that allows them to function more normally.
The ease of titration and rapid onset of symptom relief that comes from inhaled methods of use leads most PTSD patients to smoking or vaporizing their cannabis treatments. Indicas have been shown to be most effective with this crowd, but with cannabis one size does not fit all; trial and error is the order of the day. Some PTSD patients find relief using edible products to aid with sleep. Some patients find sativas to be superior for their condition, although this should be tried after other strains have been shown to be ineffective or over sedating.
Israeli scientists are conducting research to determine exactly how cannabis works on PTSD. PTSD causes inhibition of neurons located in the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, and the hippocampus. These are the areas of the brain responsible for memory and decision making. One function of the endocannabinoid system is to mediate cellular memory. People who experience a traumatic or high stress event may have a hard time getting past certain triggering events due to suppressed memory cells. These memories are suppressed to block out unwanted information relating to the stressful event. Cannabinoids help to stimulate cellular signaling of neurons, allowing the stressful memories to be processed. With the help of cannabis, patients can begin to deal with the issues from a less guarded, vigilant position. As good experiences and memories begin to replace the triggering events and bad experiences in the patient’s consciousness the hippocampus can begin to safely process and store information without feeling threatened from a triggering event.
Dispensaries across the state will begin seeing the PTSD patient population in the coming weeks.
The treatment of PTSD with medical marijuana is effective for the patient and rewarding for the doctors and dispensary employees who serve them. Rarely has there been a patient population so deserving of our help.
This article appears in Jan 8-14, 2015.
ohh no, they found a replacement for phamacutical drugs.. the big pharma companys are going to lose money, quick lets do whatever we can do to keep it illegal and surpressed !!!!!,,, after all we all know pharma companys are big political contributers !!!!
This is great and all, but unfortunately, the Southern VA still drug tests patients who take pain medication. If they test positive for marijuana, they take away their pain prescription – permanently.
The Southern VA management continues to make their own rules and policies.
Roadrunner lover – the stuff is still illegal under federal law. Frankly, I would have been VERY surprised if the VA took a different stance than the one you describe.
That’s not to say that I agree with the DVA, or with the feds keeping marijuana on Schedule 1 generally. Unfortunately, Obama does not have the gonads to take the dramatic action that would be needed to move marijuana onto Schedule 2 – which is, of course, the only logical and rational thing to do.
Clue the big Pharma/Tobacco are already here. They are the ones fronting and financing the legalization efforts. Leaving them to classify the marijuana test, inspect, copy write, study, insure, market, distribute, legal. Then it would be up to regulatory authority to police and license legalized marijuana anybody caught dealing illegally or growing at home for personal use would be guilty of tax evasion subject to seizure and forfeiture of all property with out prosecution or chance to appeal. Plenty of previous case history for that.
Now a case in federal court in Sacramento in the classification on Marijuana/Cannabis is ongoing. U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller went on a 5 day fact finding mission to Medical Dispensaries to rule if in the courts eyes it follows the guidelines as no viable medical properties. It is most likely she will rule that the law is unconstitutional and denies equal protection under the law for medical needs. The prosecution has promised to appeal if this goes to the 9th district court and they favor the lower court which could happen quickly. then this ruling would appeal to the whole western US. So all of these proposed legalization efforts is to get the market train rolling Pharma//Alcohol/Tobacco/Government/tax collection entities. Think about it remember it was the republican congress in June of last year that stopped all monies for federal prosecutors to stop raiding medical establishment in California. Be careful the Wolf is at the door in sheep’s clothing
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