Medical Marijuana For PTSD Patients In Missouri

Does PTSD Qualify for Medical Marijuana in Missouri?

Living with PTSD can be incredibly challenging, as patients regularly have to deal with unexpected anxiety attacks resulting from a past traumatic event or experience, often resulting in a negative impact to quality of life. Due to the nature of PTSD, many sufferers are reluctant to seek professional help, thereby making it difficult to approximate the number of individuals living in the State of Missouri with this condition. Based on estimates provided by the Sidran Institute, 5% of individuals in the United States are living with PTSD at any given time. With this number in mind, we can approximate that over 300,000 Missouri residents are currently living with PTSD. 

 

For those who are living with this disorder, the medical community in Missouri has recently endorsed medical marijuana as one viable treatment to help reduce anxiety and stress. This new treatment has the potential to provide the relief that you need to live a happy and fulfilling life while managing the negative impact of PTSD on the mind and body.  

 

How Could Medical Marijuana Help PTSD?

Studies all over the US and Canada have shown that medical marijuana can be a great solution for both the mental and physical symptoms of PTSD. The FDA has recently approved the use of medical marijuana for veterans with PTSD based on these findings. Because cannabinoid receptors are located in both the brain and throughout the body, the science shows that this treatment offers relief from things such as anxiety and hallucinations, as well as relief from the physical symptoms of PTSD such as pain and the inability to sleep.

 

Cannabinoid receptors in the body help to replace the neurotransmitters that are responsible for creating the “fight or flight” reaction that leads to extreme anxiety. In one study in Ottawa, 72% of PTSD patients had fewer nightmares while receiving medical marijuana. In another study in New York, it was shown that people with PTSD may actually have more cannabinoid receptors in the body than non-PTSD sufferers, which could indicate why medical marijuana is so helpful for this condition. A study performed on rats showed that a cannabidiol medication (medical marijuana without the THC) caused the subjects to forget about pain they were feeling. These studies all together lead scientists to believe that medical marijuana can help quell feelings of anxiety related to memories, and reduce physical symptoms of anxiety.

 

The relief that medical marijuana can offer to PTSD patients can also reduce the risk of substance abuse and self-medication, two big risks related to this disorder. Veterans given cannabis by the VA in 2014 were shown to lower their use of alcohol and recreational drugs. And because they sought their marijuana from a medical source, their doctors were able to ensure that they were smoking the correct strain of marijuana in its purest form. Overall, this practice has led to healthier patients in every study conducted.

​​

Cannabis History and PTSD

Numerous recent studies have been done to better understand the relationship between cannabinoids and post-traumatic stress disorder, but by no means is cannabis a new treatment for PTSD. Interestingly, cannabis use to help with post-traumatic stress disorder dates back more than 500 years. Portuguese botanist Cristobal Acosta noted that soldiers in India would smoke marijuana to combat bhang, or "battle fatigue." Acosta noted in his book, "On the Drugs and Medicines from the East Indies" that soldiers suffering PTSD would use cannabis to aid in the reduction of anxiety, and to calm the mind when sleeping.