Push to trial medicinal cannabis for treatment of PTSD

Medicinal cannabis was once seen as a last-resort treatment for PTSD — but could it be the key to treating the disorder? One researcher says the method is “extremely effective” at easing patients’ distress.

Ex-serviceman Michael Handley is backing a trial of medicinal cannabis to see if it can treat PTSD. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Medicinal cannabis’s ability to ease post-traumatic stress disorder will be tested under a national trial aimed at helping returned soldiers as well as civilians.

While cannabis has been approved as a last-resort treatment for PTSD since Australia opened up its medical use in recent years, the trial is being undertaken as part of a push to expand its use.

Over the next 12 months, cannabis access clinics, backed by medicinal cannabis company Bod Australia, hopes to treat 300 PTSD patients who have not been helped by traditional therapies with cannabis that has its psychoactive elements removed.

Dr Sharron Davis, who is ­ already treating about 20 PTSD patients with medicinal cannabis, said it had been “extremely effective”.

“It generally calms everything down and we know that it is extremely effective in other conditions such as epilepsy where it stops this random firing and calms everything that triggers seizures,” Dr Davis said.

“It has a similar effect in slowing down signals and stopping rapid-fire things like anxiety, flashback and things like that.

“It has already proven to be effective, we are just trying to add to the Australian data.”

Up to 800,000 Australians are estimated to be suffering from PTSD at any given time after being exposed to a single or repeated traumatic events, and Bod Australia chief executive officer Jo Paterson said the trial sought to include a wide range of patients.

Patients will have to bear standard treatment costs of up to $490 during the trial, however Medicare and private health rebates may apply.

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Diagnosed with PTSD after serving in Somalia during his years in the military, Michael Handley from Tweed Heads developed an app called RedSix to help current and ex-defence members with the psychological disorder, and is now keen to explore cannabis and anything else that can ease the distress with less side effects than current medications including opiates.

“Some people are going to be pro this and some people are going to be anti, but at the end of the day if we can sit down and see how many people it is working for, we can know if they are onto a good thing,” Mr Handley said.

PTSD sufferers can register their interest at bodaustralia.com.au

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