Link.
Who hates science besides the American Taliban? Let's find out...
Dr. Rick Doblin, executive director of the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in Santa Cruz, Calif., said today in an interview that the Food and Drug Administration on April 28 approved MAPS' protocol for a study of smoked and vaporized marijuana use for symptoms of PTSD.
Scheduled to study 50 veterans in Arizona with PTSD, the approval represents a generational landmark in cannabis research. It's the first FDA-approved study in 30 or 40 years that will give cannabis to patients for home use, Doblin said.
According to the protocol, neurochemical research indicates cannabis may help relieve chronic PTSD symptoms such as anxiety and depression through a variety of interactions with the endocannabinoid system.
Take a look at maps.org, the official website for Mutlidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Another link here.
Marijuana for PTSD Study
Placebo-Controlled, Triple-Blind, Randomized Crossover Pilot Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Five Different Potencies of Smoked or Vaporized Marijuana in 50 Veterans with Chronic, Treatment-Resistant Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
One landmark study from University of California- San Diego that I've posted before a few times; also relevant--> http://health.ucsd.edu/...
In 2011, there isn't much debate amongst informed parties about whether cannabis research is "stifled" in the U.S.A. It's a known fact, and taken for granted when beginning any discourse.
The study still faces extremely high hurdles before it can begin. It must also be approved by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - which states on its website that it believes smoked marijuana is not medicine.
Doblin said NIDA has repeatedly denied approval to MAPS cannabis studies, despite repeated FDA approvals. Doblin said that while the FDA is interested in pursuing cannabis research, NIDA is not.
"I'm not very optimistic at all. Most studies never happen," said Doblin.
Saying that "smoked marijuana is not medicine" is like saying that "crimson" isn't "red". Mere quibbling. Humans have eaten cannabis for thousands of years, and vaporized it for over a decade. Pretending to be ignorant of those facts is not good for the credibility of a federal agency.
In related news, the National Cancer Institute notably flip-flopped on cannabis science recently, by first acknowledging the anti-tumor properties of cannabinoids, then scrubbing its website a couple of days later.
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Learn more about PTSD: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/
http://www.nchv.org/...
Veterans with PTSD are at a higher risk for homelessness.
Right now, homeless vets are facing federal budget cuts on top of local and state cuts in services.
Roughly 56 percent of all homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 12.8 percent and 15.4 percent of the U.S. population respectively.
About 1.5 million other veterans, meanwhile, are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.
How many homeless veterans are there?
Although flawless counts are impossible to come by – the transient nature of homeless populations presents a major difficulty – VA estimates that 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, approximately twice that many experience homelessness. Only eight percent of the general population can claim veteran status, but nearly one-fifth of the homeless population are veterans.