Talk surrounding the potential medical benefits of cannabis has drastically increased alongside the emerging medical and recreational cannabis industries, and now a new clinical trial, conducted by Soroka University Medical Center and Israeli medical cannabis company Cannbit-Tikun Olam further cements the potential of the substance, specifically in regard to treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The Jerusalem Post first reported on the results of the trial, which were mostly positive. The study was conducted over several years to evaluate the safety and efficacy of treating PTSD with medical cannabis.
Most notably, a number of patients using cannabis medicine stopped or reduced their dosages of opioids (by 52 percent), anti-psychotics (by 36.9 percent), anti-epileptics (by 35.7 percent) and hypnotics and sedatives (by 35.3 percent). Additionally, more than two thirds of patients reported at least moderate improvement without serious side effects, and 90.8 percent of treated PTSD patients were classified as “therapeutic successes” after six months.
The trial also notes other improvements among patients, like a huge decrease in rage attacks, restlessness, nausea and sleep disturbances. Nearly half of the patients also reported that their quality of life improved throughout the treatment.
Though, cannabis use can come with side effects, like dizziness, the munchies, sleepiness and “feeling high,” which the report notes this group of patients wasn’t meant to feel through treatment. However, each of these side effects were only experienced by a single-digit percentage of users, a crucial point to note given that the study focused on 8,500 Israelis. The mean age of participants was 54.6 years old, and the cannabis used was developed by Cannbit-Tikun Olam.
Lihi Bar-Lev Schleider, the company’s head of R&D, said that this isn’t the first time Cannbit-Tikun Olam has demonstrated medical cannabis treatment relieves symptoms and improves quality of life for patients, though this new study did reveal notable, additional findings.
“This is the first time that in-depth, organized and systematic analysis of a large amount of data on a very large group of patients was performed, and in which, without bias, the effect of the treatment for various indications was examined,” Schleider said.
Cannbit-Tikun Olam is also a large player in Israel’s medical cannabis industry. In December 2021, an exclusive and mutual collaboration agreement was signed between the company and Teva Israel, allowing Teva Israel to distribute Cannbit-Tikun Olam’s products throughout Israel and the Palstinian Authority.
According to an ABC News report, Israel is one of the world leaders in medical cannabis consumption, and more than 100,000 Israelis have permits to consume medical cannabis, according to the Health Ministry (a 16-fold increase over the past decade). Part of this boom is because of reform bak in 2019, which made it easier for doctors to prescribe cannabis to people suffering from chronic pain, cancer, PTSD, epilepsy and other conditions.
The medical cannabis market in Israel was valued at around $264 million in 2021, which is roughly $7 million less than the entirety of Europe, according to industry analysis firm Prohibition Partners.
Teva Israel CEO Yossi Ofek pointed to the “dizzying pace” in which the medical cannabis area is developing in the country, and that there is generally more openness to medical cannabis treatments in Israel and the world as a whole.
“Today, it is clear to many in the pharmaceutical industry and in the medical community that the use of oils produced from specific cannabis strains may provide additional treatment options and respond to unmet medical needs of patients. I have no doubt that the medical cannabis oils Cannbit-Tikun Olam produces—according to Teva’s high quality and safety standards – will help us realize our goal of improving the lives of patients.”
