The trauma
Dealing with any mental health issues is extremely troublesome for the patient, their family, and those around them. Some take years to go away, and some some never truly do.
PTSD affects many people who have suffered a traumatic event in their life. One may periodically see or relive that moment and become severely stressed in the process. PTSD is often seen in returning soldiers or victims of a violent attack. But it can be seen in other cases as well, such as in small children.
Medical marijuana for treatment?
Since the legal advancements of allowing medical marijuana legal in health applications have been made, another doctor by the name of Dr. Mechoulam discovered that certain properties of marijuana may have positive effects on PTSD patients, with respect to memory. What was found in experiments with mice was that, after use, marijuana helps a subject to forget shock triggered by stimuli, whereas others without marijuana simply never forgot.
This novel idea for treating PTSD was fascinating and potentially promising to many, and this was likely the reason why officials and voters wanted to conduct research and start putting it in practice. Voting in Colorado were underway recently, and a decision was made.
The decision about medical marijuana treatment
A decision was made by the Colorado Board of Health yesterday about whether nor not to allow the state to let PTSD patients use medical marijuana as treatment. However, they said no to the measure due a variety of factors, including lack of sufficient research and medical trials on the effectiveness of this type of treatment for PTSD patients.
Despite the usage of marijuana being legal in the state, the decision was almost unanimous in its vote with a vote of 6-2. This is not the first time the recommendation to use medical marijuana for PTSD has been put to the vote.
However, even though the motion was not passed, patients can still continue to use medical marijuana as treatment on their dime. The downside of all this is that Colorado implements a tax on medical marijuana which is significantly lower than the tax amount for recreational use. Studies are now underway for the practical use of medical marijuana in treatment of PTSD by the state.
