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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Specific Marijuana Strains
Published: 11/23/2011 by David A
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According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is “an anxiety disorder that some people get after seeing or living through a dangerous event.” It is not unusual for PTSD patients to suffer from sleep deprivation due to anxiety, pain, or several other conditions associated with PTSD.
It is vital for PTSD patients to receive sufficient sleep, mainly because sleep correlates with positive health & well-being. Reports indicate that as many as 70% to 91% of patients with PTSD report difficulty falling asleep or staying awake. PTSD is often associated with the cluster of intrusive recollections of traumatic events that patients often suffer repetitive dreams about.
According to the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, treatment with adrenergic blocking agents has been shown to improve PTSD related nightmares. Take, for example, the use of Prazosin in order to treat PTSD related nightmares. The medication is used to treat high blood pressure, but also has severe side effects like an irregular heartbeat or a painful erection of the penis that lasts for hours.
Considering the fact that a vast majority of PTSD patients are male war veterans, an alternative medicine is a great path for PTSD sleep-deprived patients to take. The alternative medicine I am referring to, of course, is medical marijuana!
As noted earlier in my insomnia article, medical marijuana patients should medicate with an indica or indica heavy hybrid. The reason why patients should avoid sativas is because this particular medicine tends to intensify brain activity & interrupt sleep.
Sleep progresses through a series, referred to as “stages of sleep,” in which different brain wave patterns throughout each stage. Out of the 5 stages, stage 3 is particularly important because it is the transitional period between light sleep & a very deep sleep.
Quick resinous indicas have been reported by PTSD patients to be highly effective in stage 3 & 4, as well as stage 5 referred to as “Rapid Eye Movement.” Patients should also look for marijuana that has short flowering times. The reason for this is because marijuana that is high in THC & low in Cannabinoids (CBD) is most useful for sleep deprived PTSD patients. Marijuana plants that have short flowering times have a larger percantage of THC than CBD. Specific strains like “Clever Man” & “Boy Wonder, as well as any Afghani indica, have been reported to be most useful.
Sleep is the basis for PTSD patients to get better. Because this disorder often does not allow these patients to receive a sufficient amount of sleep, medical marijuana is an efficient medicine to help with PTSD. PTSD patients should make sure to always medicate with an indica strain, especially the suggestions above!
Good Stuff!
Gavin Latham from Washington, D.C. - 01/30/2012 - 09:20 am
I really enjoyed this article. I simply wish there was more of it! You covered everything from strains to explanations of sleep levels, and how cannabis affects the mind for sleep. I think, however, that the title is a bit misleading. To me, this article worked more towards sleep relief than PTSD (though insomnia is a symptom of PTSD). Also, personally, I've found that cannabis tea of an indica strain to be effective at inducing restless, worthwhile sleep -- more so than smoking.
All in all, though, well done. A succinct, informative piece.
True, but don't forget this...
Kris Franklin from Denver, CO - 01/15/2012 - 11:07 am
As a rape and abuse survivor, I agree with David A's take on PTSD and medical marijuana. For a PTSD sufferer such as myself, MMJ is key to being able to control the depression, insomnia, and flashbacks that can oftentimes be completely debilitating. However, the writer should not have failed to mention that PTSD is not a valid condition to warrant receiving a MMJ license. I first went to the MMJ doctor on December 01, 2009. I had a wide variety of issues I needed to address for which "normal" western medicine was not helping. I am looking at a copy of my application right now. PTSD is crossed off. The doctor I went to, who was referred to me by my dispensary, told me that PTSD and depression were "not good enough reasons for a medical marijuana license." I explained that every so often, I have to go to counseling for help with issues stemming from PTSD, and that I was told that MMJ would help to lessen that need. The doctor apologized, but crossed off PTSD anyway. Now I do admit that I haven't done a doctor visit in quite some time. Perhaps things have changed. Maybe PTSD is a "good enough reason" nowadays. I am not sure. But I would like to make sure readers know (from my own experience) that just because MMJ is a wonderful treatment for PTSD symptoms, you'd better have a slew of other conditions at the ready to write down on your MMJ license.
I will be passing this one along
Megan Dawn from Denver, CO - 01/10/2012 - 01:42 am
David A. writes ardently about medical marijuana as treatment for the complications of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This article is not just for the MMJ patient who suffers from PTSD; this article is for the PTSD patient who seeks real, well-balanced treatment that is safe and less harmful.
The author wastes no time in breaking out definitions, statistics, medical journals and scientific conclusions that not only explain the fine details of PTSD but give the sufferers some concrete information and options. As one may hope, he adds the names of a couple strains that “have been reported to be most useful” for its worst symptoms.
One of the best parts about David A.’s writing is he always seems to give you the backstory. Helping his audience to understand things like the cycles and stages of sleep, or how prescription drugs have affected PTSD sufferers, allows us to delve deeper into how we function, and therefore, how we’re going to work toward betterment. This is the kind of author whose sources are difficult to doubt because he obviously puts a lot of time and effort into his research.
Mental health advocates everywhere would applaud this article. Rather than simply writing about medical marijuana’s advantage for PTSD, he provides his reader with an understanding of the condition and the suffering that these patients go through. Not many of us know the trials that PTSD sufferers face, yet David A. manages to bring us closer to our fellow patients—closer as a community—and through his support, provides some of our own with knowledge, hope, and healing.
