First Pharmaceutical Treatment for PTSD Within Reach

[RainDog]

15. One way that cannabis can be used therapeutically

Last edited Wed May 15, 2013, 12:38 PM - Edit history (1)

is the same way that beta blockers have been used.

Of course, everyone responds to substances differently (whether legal or illegal), but for some people, cannabis helps to relieve anxiety. This is also a function of beta blockers (and has been prescribed off-label for a long time for professional musicians, for instance, for performance anxiety/stage fright.)

For use in processing trauma, however, beta blockers and cannabis allow someone to reframe memories in a context that doesn't set off all their adrenaline reactions - "memory" for someone with PTSD is sort of a misnomer, since the body, etc. responds as though the event is actually happening (not in a psychosis way, but in a "flight or fight" physiological way.) So if someone is able to work with a therapist to get beyond the terrors and horrors without having that reaction, the idea is that people can "retrain" their brains to not have that panic reaction.

I've tried some of this with beta blockers but not cannabis.

Something that Raphael Mechoulam, the scientist who first identified the first cannabinoid talks about, too, is the use of cannabis to help people forget.

http://veteransformedicalmarijuana.org/content/general-use-cannabis-ptsd-symptoms

Dr. Mechoulam is the Israeli scientist who identified THC as the psychoactive compound in marijuana, and decades later he discovered the brain's endocannabinoid system and the endogenous neurotransmitter anandamide. He is one of the most respected Israeli neuroscientists and has been a senior advisor to the Israeli government on marijuana policy and the ethics of research with human subjects. He discussed his experiments demonstrating the neuroprotective effects of the endocannabinoid system in mice that have had traumatic injuries to the brain. He believes the neuroprotective effects of marijuana may eventually have applications for other neurological and psychiatric conditions, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Another fascinating discovery, one with implications for PTSD, is that the cannabinoid system is integrally related to memory, specifically to memory extinction. Memory extinction is the normal, healthy process of removing associations from stimuli. Dr. Mechoulam explained that an animal which has been administered an electric shock after a certain noise will eventually forget about the shock after the noise appears alone for a few days. Mice without cannabinoid systems simply never forget - they continue to cringe at the noise indefinitely.

This has implications for patients with PTSD, who respond to stimuli that remind them of their initial trauma even when it is no longer appropriate. By aiding in memory extinction, marijuana could help patients reduce their association between stimuli (perhaps loud noises or stress) and the traumatic situations in their past. Working with Army psychiatrists, Dr. Mechoulam has obtained the necessary approvals for a study on PTSD in Israeli veterans, and hopes to begin the study soon.

(the article spends some talk about pharmacological uses of cannabinoids and notes that the typical use may not offer the best route to actual extinction of PTSD, but serves more to treat symptoms.)

...If an individual were to want to get the most out of using therapeutic cannabis to improve a PTSD condition they should try to use low to moderate doses with as stable a blood level as possible for general anxiety and depression symptoms. Oral cannabis produces more stable blood levels. Since peak levels will produce the most soporific effect, administration of oral cannabis right before bed should produce the most benefits for improving sleep patterns. If the goal is to use cannabis to facilitate extinction of the response to PTSD triggers than small to moderate doses of cannabis vapors should be administered shortly before planned exposure to the trigger. A series of regular extinction sessions will produce better results than a single session. If cannabis appears to make aversion, fear, or aversive memories worse then the dosage should be lowered. If feelings of fear do not improve with lower dose then discontinue use of cannabis as fear-extinction aide.