Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after going through an extreme emotional trauma that involved witnessing the threat of injury and/or death to the individual or loved ones.
PTSD when manifested in severe physical suffering, such as severe or chronic pain or severe nausea and vomiting, severely impairs the patient’s physical ability to carry on the activities of daily life.
PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans, but it can result from a variety of traumatic incidents including but not limited to mugging, rape, torture, being kidnapped or held captive, child abuse, car accidents, train wrecks, plane crashes, bombings or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes.
How Cannabis Can Help Relieve Symptoms
Researchers at the multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies have found through their work with Project CBD that one pillar of PTSD is an endocannabinoid deficiency: the body stops producing enough endocannabinoids to fill receptor sites. This is where the cannabinoids found in marijuana play a therapeutic role.
Skewed CB-1 signaling, due to endocannabinoid deficits (low serum levels of anandamide which is what we see in PTSD), results in impaired fear extinction, aversive memory consolidation and chronic anxiety.
By replenishing these missing endocannabinoids with those found in cannabis, researchers believe marijuana pharmaceuticals may give PTSD patients relief from their traumatic feelings or memories.
Scientists have determined that normal CB-1 receptor signaling deactivates traumatic memories and the person will have the ability to forget their traumatic feelings.