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<p>The DEA and FDA back clinical trial intended to develop marijuana into a legal prescription drug.</p>

Feds Greenlight Exploration of Marijuana for PTSD Treatment

By Jonathan Springston, Associate Managing Editor, AHC Media

Federal agencies have signed off on funding for a clinical trial that will examine the effects of medical marijuana on U.S. veterans with PTSD. This is the first time a trial intended to develop marijuana into a legal prescription drug has received full approval from U.S. regulatory agencies, including the DEA and the FDA, according to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a nonprofit group sponsoring the trial.

A $2.156 million grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment will fund a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study that will test the efficacy and safety of botanical marijuana in 76 U.S. veterans with PTSD who are resistant to traditional treatments.

“We have been working toward approval since we opened the Investigational New Drug Application with the FDA in 2010,” Amy Emerson, executive director and director of clinical research for the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to see this study overcome the hurdles of approval so we can begin gathering the data. This study is a critical step in moving our botanical drug development program forward at the federal level to gather information on the dosing, risks, and benefits of smoked marijuana for PTSD symptoms.”

Within the last year, AHC Media has tackled the treatment of PTSD from several angles. The May/June 2016 issue of Trauma Reports details blast injuries, with a specific section examining the connection between the clinical symptoms of post-concussion syndrome and PTSD. The November 2015 issue of Integrative Medicine Alert outlined an alternative to traditional PTSD treatment — a 10-week “trauma-informed” yoga practice that aided women with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD. And in the October 2015 issue of Clinical Briefs in Primary Care, one study found that mindfulness-based stress reduction proved to be a valuable intervention for PTSD patients.