The federal government has finally given the greenlight on a long delayed study that would look at the potentials of marijuana in treating veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The go signal was specifically given to a study that will be conducted by Suzanne Sisley, a clinical assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, who for three years had been trying to get the government's approval for her study that would measure the effects of five different potencies of vaporized or smoked marijuana in treating PTSD in 50 veterans.
Medical marijuana advocates, whose interest to study marijuana as a treatment for illnesses has been hindered by federal regulations, were surprised by the development but hailed the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) decision as a move that could pave way to other studies that will examine marijuana's potential as a drug.
"We never relented," Sisley said. "But most other scientists have chosen not to even apply. The process is so onerous. With the implementation of this study and the data generated, this could lead to other crucial research projects."
The University of Arizona study has long been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but the researchers were not able to obtain marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which runs the only federally-sanctioned source in Mississippi.
In a letter sent to Rick Doblin, the executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which raises money to fund studies focusing on medical marijuana such as that of Sisley's, the HHS gave MAPS the go signal to buy research grade marijuana from NIDA.
"On March 14, 2014, in an historic shift in federal policy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granted permission for MAPS to purchase research-grade marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for our planned study of marijuana for symptoms of PTSD in U.S. veterans," MAPS said in a statement. "MAPS has been working for over 22 years to start marijuana drug development research, and this is the first time we've been granted permission to purchase marijuana from NIDA, the sole provider of marijuana for federally regulated research in the United States."
Government officials, however, noted that the approval did not constitute a change in policy but rather a recognition that Sisley's proposals met the standards for studies that involve illegal drugs.
