A small clinical trial of vaporized cannabis for PTSD: suggestive results and directions for future study

Abstract

Abstract The last few decades have seen increasing interest in the use of cannabis for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recent attempts to evaluate the clinical efficacy of cannabis for PTSD were inconclusive and generalizability was limited by undesirable features of the study drug. The present clinical trial evaluated the effects of a commercially available chemovar that was delivered by vaporization. The study was designed as a randomized placebo-controlled cross-over study with three conditions; however, only five individuals completed the trial, and analysis of the placebo effect was not possible. Results identified positive changes consistent with medium-sized within-subject effects for cannabis in the treatment of PTSD. Positive trending results and high patient need mandate future studies of cannabis for the treatment of PTSD.

Keywords

• Medical cannabis
• PTSD
• Plant medicine