Just read this article in Israel 21C
link://http://israel21c.org/health/marijuana-could-alleviate-symptoms-of-ptsd
By Karin Kloosterman
December 17, 2009
An Israeli study finds that the cannabinoids in cannabis provide anxiety relief, could affect emotional memory and may enhance PTSD treatments.
In pill or drug form, cannabis could be used alongside exposure therapy to stymie the effect of trauma.
Back in the early Sixties when the Flower Children were getting high, parents in the US government were consulting Prof. Raphael Mechoulam from Israel about the effects of pot smoking on their teens. Mechoulam, an organic chemist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was the first to isolate the psychotropic element THC in the cannabis plant. He dubbed its active chemical components 'cannabinoids.'
Ever since his discovery, the medical community has recognized and lauded the importance of cannabinoids in alleviating chronic pain and nausea in cancer patients and modulating the symptoms of HIV/AIDS. A new study, this time at Israel's University of Haifa, has found a reason to legalize the use of cannabinoids, assuming that its benefits outweigh the potential risks.
According to the study by Dr. Irit Akirav from the Department of Psychology at Haifa University, cannabinoids may relieve the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a debilitating disorder that strikes 10 to 30 percent of people who suffer from a traumatic event such as war, a car accident, rape or a terrorist attack.
In her study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, Akirav used an animal model and a synthetic form of marijuana that didn't induce psychotropic effects, to measure the compound's efficacy at reducing the effects of PTSD.
For the rest of the article (not frightfully long) go ahead and click the link: //http://israel21c.org/health/marijuana-could-alleviate-symptoms-of-ptsd