DEA approves groundbreaking study on cannabis and PTSD

This is almost a historic moment for medical cannabis research in the USA. For the first time, the DEA has given the go-ahead for a clinical trial on the application of cannabis as a legal medicine.

The study will be conducted for the Californian association Multidisciplanry Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in partnership with Dr. Sue Sisley. The latter was forced to leave her job at the University of Arizona in 2014 after receiving complaints about her support for cannabis, and has since worked tirelessly to conduct one of the largest studies on the contribution of cannabis to people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with the help of a $2 million grant awarded by the Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council.

The study, which will take place in Colorado and Arizona, will subject 76 veterans suffering from PTSD to randomized, double-blind, placebo testing with 4 different potencies of cannabis. The Colorado Department of Public Health will also add 2 million$ to fund the research.

A great victory for cannabis researchers

The assumption of the DEA represents a major turning point for medical research. As MAPS says on its website: «Our efforts to initiate research into medical cannabis have been blocked by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (National Institute on Drug Abuse) and by the DEA since our inception in 1986. NIDA's monopoly on the supply of cannabis for research and the DEA's refusal to allow researchers to grow their own plantations has restricted medical cannabis research for decades. For the past 12 years, MAPS has been involved in legal battles against the DEA to put an end to this situation.»

The DEA today granted a single small farm at the University of Mississippi the right to grow cannabis for research purposes, under the supervision of NIDA. This farm will supply the study in question, and the first cannabis samples should arrive within the next few weeks.

While no veterans have yet been selected for these trials, Dr. Sisley has told the Phoenix New Times that hundreds of volunteers had already contacted him by phone or email. As some future study participants may drop out during the course of the study, more than 76 veterans will be recruited.