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One of the first federally approved studies on the effects of cannabis on veterans with PTSD received final approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration earlier this week. The DEA’s approval means the research, which has been stalled for five years, can finally move forward. “We could start working with study candidates as early as June,” researcher Sue Sisley told Leafly on Thursday.
Sisley, a psychiatrist and former clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, has been fighting to carry out the study since 2011, when it was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Since then, Sisley and colleagues have been struggling to overcome the federal roadblocks that prevent most cannabis research. In 2014, the University of Arizona terminated her contract after conservative state politicians raised objections over the use of cannabis in the study.
It’s not as easy as you might think. Participants will need to be veterans diagnosed with PTSD who have found their condition resistant to conventional treatments. They don’t need to be current medical marijuana patients, but those who are will have to abstain for a period of weeks prior to the study, in order to validate the results. “We’ll need to randomize the participants,” Sisley explained, which means half will receive cannabis and half will receive a placebo. “For those who are relying on medical marijuana to currently treat their PTSD, receiving a placebo could be challenging.”
https://www.leafly.com/news/headlines/dea-finally-approves-study-on-cannabis-and-ptsd
Sisley, a psychiatrist and former clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, has been fighting to carry out the study since 2011, when it was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Since then, Sisley and colleagues have been struggling to overcome the federal roadblocks that prevent most cannabis research. In 2014, the University of Arizona terminated her contract after conservative state politicians raised objections over the use of cannabis in the study.
It’s not as easy as you might think. Participants will need to be veterans diagnosed with PTSD who have found their condition resistant to conventional treatments. They don’t need to be current medical marijuana patients, but those who are will have to abstain for a period of weeks prior to the study, in order to validate the results. “We’ll need to randomize the participants,” Sisley explained, which means half will receive cannabis and half will receive a placebo. “For those who are relying on medical marijuana to currently treat their PTSD, receiving a placebo could be challenging.”
https://www.leafly.com/news/headlines/dea-finally-approves-study-on-cannabis-and-ptsd