Pubdate: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 Source: Sun Chronicle (Attleboro, MA) Copyright: 2010 Robert Sharpe Contact: http://www.thesunchronicle.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3184 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n613/a04.html Author: Robert Sharpe MARIJUANA HOLDS PROMISE OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS RELIEF Re: "Follow VA lead on medical marijuana," Aug. 1: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' long overdue acknowledgement of marijuana's medical efficacy has important implications for troops returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In response to findings that soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are successfully self-medicating with marijuana, Israel is conducting clinical trials on the use of marijuana derivatives to treat PTSD. A groundbreaking study of 4,117 patients conducted by California physician Thomas O'Connell found that marijuana is widely used as an anti-anxiety/antidepressant agent, performing as well or better than many currently available prescription drugs prescribed for the same symptoms. If organic marijuana is indeed an effective anti-anxiety medication that doesn't have the troubling side-effects of synthetic pharmaceuticals, shouldn't all veterans with PTSD have access rather than just those in states with compassionate-use laws? Robert Sharpe, Washington, D.C. THE WRITER is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy. Dr. O'Connell's research can be found at http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/4/1/16 . An example of the latest Israeli research on cannabis and PTSD can be found on the U.S. National Institute of Health's clinical trial website: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00965809 - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake