A veteran nonprofit organization called the Battle Brothers Foundation received permission to carry out an observational study about the efficacy of medical cannabis to help with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The organization will be working in partnership with a research company called NiaMedic to undertake the study. The Battle Brothers are the nonprofit arm of the Helmand Valley Growers Company, a group that was founded by veterans and donates profits to medical cannabis research efforts for veterans.
“Every day, 22 veterans are dying due to effects of post-traumatic stress from opioid addiction to depression. Through anecdotal experiences, we know that cannabis can alleviate symptoms and provide relief. We appreciate that the IRB recognizes the validity of and the need for this study,” said Bryan Buckley, founder and president of The Battle Brothers Foundation.
The study will include 60 Californians suffering from PTSD who will use their own, individually purchased medical cannabis. They will be evaluated for 90 days and report about the effects of cannabis and how it impacts their PTSD symptoms.
PTSD is one of the major health concerns of veterans, and many use cannabis to medicate and help deal with symptoms. Recent data from the National Institutes of Health reveals that on average, 13.5 percent of deployed and non-deployed veterans have PTSD. Over the past 13 years, 500,000 US troops have been diagnosed with PTSD.
Other studies already conducted have found that cannabis can help with PTSD. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a study showing that PTSD users who medicated with cannabis experienced a greater decrease in symptoms than those in a control group who did not use medical cannabis.
While there is already some data on how cannabis can help treat PTSD, there is still a lack of solid evidence due to the Veterans Affairs being a federal institution and cannabis being federally illegal. This round of research would provide much-needed information on PTSD and cannabis.
