DEA Approves Study of Cannabis in Treating PTSD
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has given approval to a study examining the benefits of cannabis in treating post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
According to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), who will be conducting the study, the DEA has given them approval to purchase whole-plant cannabis from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the only federal agency that can distribute cannabis for research purposes. Now that MAPS has this approval, they’ll now begin the process of recruiting and enrolling study participants.
“The contract with the state of Colorado was signed on April 20 — an unofficial national holiday in some circles — meaning the funds are en route to MAPS”, says MAPS spokesman Brad Burge. “We are now preparing to place the order for the marijuana for the study”.
In 2014, Colorado awarded MAPS with a $2 million grant for the study. The group plans to start recruiting participants in June, with the goal of having 76 military veterans who have treatment-resistant PTSD.
