Marijuana Can Lessen Effects Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
CAN marijuana salve the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder? Researchers at Haifia Universit, Jerusalem, Israel, say that to work, the weed needs to be taken soon after the traumatic event, ideally within 24 hours. Test have been done on rats. Cannabinoids expert Dr Irit Akirav says:
“There is a critical ‘window of time’ after trauma, during which synthetic marijuana can help prevent symptoms similar to PTSD in rats.”
The experiment, published in the journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, worked like this:
In the first part of the experiment, rats were exposed to extreme stress, and were found to display symptoms resembling PTSD in humans. They were then divided into four groups, with the first given no marijuana, the second given a marijuana injection two hours after being exposed, the third after 24 hours and the fourth after 48 hours.
The researchers examined the rats a week later and found that the group that had not received marijuana, as well as the one that received the injection after 48 hours, displayed PTSD symptoms and a high level of anxiety.
Although the rats in the other two groups also displayed high levels of anxiety, the PTSD symptoms had totally disappeared.
To be clear, using marijuana does not relieve your anxiety, not your fears of being stressed by human scientists and then prodded with a needle full of something.
But still, anything that helps must be worth a go, right?
Spotter: AFP, via Death & Taxes
Posted: 22nd, September 2011 | In: Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
