Low THC in Federal Cannabis Causes Concerns in PTSD Research
Last April, the the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) gave its blessing to a study on the effect of medical cannabis on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the first randomized, controlled research in the U.S. for PTSD that will use the actual plant instead of oils or synthesized cannabis.
The decision was heralded as a victory for those suffering from PTSD. Cannabis has been used for years to help alleviate anxiety and stress disorders and soldiers returning from war have spoken out on its efficacy in treating PTSD. A prior study found that THC is better at combating contextual fear memory reconsolidation than CBD, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis. The research further concluded that when applied together THC and CBD could alleviate PTSD with minimal psychological side effects.
Researchers from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies (MAPS) requested federal-grade cannabis to test on patients suffering from PTSD. Dr. Sue Sisley, the lead researcher on the project, was not thrilled with the cannabis they received, stating that it seemed sub-par to the cannabis available on the market. “It doesn’t resemble cannabis. It doesn’t smell like cannabis,” Sisley told PBS NewsHour last week.
All of the U.S. Government’s supply of cannabis originates from a facility at the University of Mississippi, under the eye of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The cannabis used there tested out at only 13 percent THC, which is not very high. Sisley did some of her own testing and found that some of the NIDA’s cannabis supply tested out at only eight percent, which would be considered weak cannabis by most standards. “Scientists want to do real world studies,” Sisley told ATTN: “We want to imitate what patients are using day-to-day in the real world, and right now we can’t with the current study drug supply.”
The cannabis circulating throughout Colorado’s recreational industry averages at 19 percent THC, however, top-shelf cannabis can easily test out at 30 percent THC or more. Dr. Sue Sisley and others can’t get very far if the cannabis being used is of poor quality. Patients suffering from PTSD need high quality cannabis in real life, making it pertinent to the research as well. THC has been proven to be more potent than CBD in attenuating fear memories, and in PTSD that is essential.
According to Rick Doblin, the founding director of MAPS, some of the NIDA’s cannabis that they received is not tested for common contaminants such as yeast or mold. The NIDA is reportedly casually looking into increasing the quality of the cannabis that they produce.
