The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released a report on Sept. 20, 2019, confirming that at least 60,000 veterans had died by suicide between 2008 and 2017. The tide of veteran suicides rose nearly 50% during that period and has increased over four of the last five years on record, with an annual average of 7,300 veterans taking their own lives. A National Institutes of Health study confirmed that the most common medical problems facing military veterans today are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and suicide. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of 22% greater than the general population.
In the 2019 report, the VA says that reducing veteran suicide is a top priority, but some ask why the agency is not looking more closely at one of the most obvious viable solutions: cannabis.
“We know that suicide is related to untreated or undertreated (PTSD),” said Dr. Sue Sisley, principal investigator at the Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI) where she and her colleagues are undertaking the first randomized controlled clinical trials in the world to examine the safety and efficacy of smoked whole-plant cannabis flower to evaluate how CBD is helping veterans with PTSD. “We also know that cannabis is helping veterans deal with the symptoms of PTSD, so we owe it to them and their families to study it rigorously regardless of the onerous barriers.”
“Our government-approved studies with veterans and cannabis may have helped uncover a new treatment for people with PTSD, yet the VA refuses to cooperate with our trials,” Sisley said.
What is the future of CBD for PTSD veterans?
You can read the full article here: https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/11/ptsd-related-suicides-among-veterans-are-rising-experts-believe-cannabis-can-help/
