Marijuana Linked to PTSD Prevention

Many people are aware of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. It has been common among soldiers returning from war and anyone else who has been through a traumatic experience. However, until recently, there wasn't medication available to treat or prevent the condition, but new studies suggest that pot may actually do the trick.

A report was recently published in Neuropsycopharmacology, a science magazine that often discusses new theories and research efforts. In the report, scientists from Israel were able to prove that the symptoms of PTSD can be blocked through the use of cannabinoid marijuana extractions.

The theory is based on a test done with rats. The rats that received the marijuana extracts showed less signs of stress than those that did not. The researchers also found, however, that timing was a big factor.

Apparently there is a certain window during which the marijuana treatment will be most effective. Scientists found that the rats that showed the most success were those that were given marijuana within 48 hours of their stressful experience. The rats that had to wait longer for their treatment continued to show increased stress levels.

There are still a lot of questions being asked about how these studies will translate to human use. For example, the window of opportunity for rats may be much longer, or even much shorter, than that of humans.

This study comes as a shock to many, but is it really that surprising? Medicinal marijuana has been known to relieve feelings of stress and anxiety since its popular inception and is frequently recommended to patients who show signs of these conditions.

An interesting statistic to consider is that almost seven percent of Americans are predicted to experience some form of PTSD in their lives. How many of them will have access to the medical marijuana that will help them move on?