From the proverbial horse's mouth...

Salem-News.com (Aug-09-2007 05:38)
PTSD: Overlooked Research
Dr. Phil Leveque Salem-News.com

Phil Leveque has spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Physician and Toxicologist.

"(MOLALLA, Ore.) - The literature research of medical marijuana leads literally in all directions. The information from Viet Nam War veterans brought me the information that medical marijuana was very good for PTSD.

This was not really a surprise because medical marijuana is effective for so many medical conditions, especially those involving the brain. For instance, it is effective for epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, some forms of schizophrenia, nausea and vomiting, brain trauma, panic attacks, etc.

Under the circumstances, I felt it best to listen to my patients. They told me marijuana gave more relief than any psychotropic pharmaceutical they had been prescribed. Such being the case, I started checking PTSD literature. I knew that combat soldiers got it and I had heard that emergency room personnel, police and EMTs get it also.

I was surprised to find the article, “Identifying and Treating VA Medical Care Patients with Undetected Sequelae of Psychological Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” in NCP Clinical Quarterly, 6(4), Fall 1996, published by National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Department of Veterans Affairs.

Their testing, which was psychologic and sometimes psychiatric, brought out very large and varied patients groups who by their testing exhibited signs and symptoms of PTSD. Their diagnosis and therapy was one-on-one with a psychologist or psychiatrist and/or group therapy where affected patients could talk about their experiences leading to PTSD to relieve the symptoms.

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They say that many veterans with PTSD symptoms are unrecognized and untreated. This possibly explains the high alcoholism rate, the high illegal drug use and also the high suicide number which is considered to be about 60,000 as of 2007.

It appears obvious that this represents a complete failure of the VA hospitals to address and successfully treat this problem.

The studies reported in this article indicate a veteran with polydrug dependency especially marijuana, which he found more helpful than any other medication.

Their second patient also had a polydrug dependency problem which was not relieved by their counseling and group therapy.

Their third patient suffered from chronic coronary heart disease, hypertension and ulcerative colitis (all of which could be results of combat or other stress). After a couple of years without success, he was placed in a PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Program (PRRP) with fellow veteran PTSD victims.

It is clear that the “treatments” given to these three patients were extremely expensive and with what appears to be only modest success if at all. In the meantime, many PTSD veterans have found that marijuana/cannabis works well, certainly better than alcohol, mind-numbing psychotropics, etc.

Must the PTSD veterans, as indicated in this article, have to treat themselves?"

Entire article here;
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/august092007/leveque_ptsd_8907.php