Challenges and considerations for treating PTSD with medicinal cannabis: the Australian clinician's perspective.
Luke J. Ney, Wole Akosile, Chris Davey, Louise Pitcher, Kim L Felmingham, Leah M. Mayo, Matthew N Hill, Esben Strodl
Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology 2023 DOI: 10.1080/17512433.2023.2276309 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Cannabis PTSD |
| Keywords | Clinical medicine Exposure therapy Posttraumatic stress disorder |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | Medicinal cannabis may be efficacious for PTSD, but implementation into routine clinical therapies faces clinical, practical, and safety challenges, particularly when combined with trauma-focused psychotherapy. |
Abstract
Preclinical and experimental research have provided promising evidence that medicinal cannabis may be efficacious in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, implementation of medicinal cannabis into routine clinical therapies may not be straightforward. In this review, we describe some of the clinical, practical, and safety challenges that must be addressed for cannabis-based treatment of PTSD to be feasible in a real-world setting. These issues are especially prevalent if medicinal cannabis is to be combined with trauma-focused psychotherapy. Future consideration of the clinical and practical considerations of cannabis use in PTSD therapy will be essential to both the efficacy and safety of the treatment protocols that are being developed. These issues include dose timing and titration, potential for addiction, product formulation, windows of intervention, and route of administration. In particular, exposure therapy for PTSD involves recall of intense emotions, and the interaction between cannabis use and reliving of trauma memories must be explored in terms of patient safety and impact on therapeutic outcomes.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on PTSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelic Psychiatry's Brave New World. | 2020 | Review | |
| Reviewing the Potential of Psychedelics for the Treatment of PTSD | 2020 | Review | |
| Novel psychopharmacological therapies for psychiatric disorders: psilocybin and MDMA. | 2016 | Review | |
| MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD: Are memory reconsolidation and fear extinction underlying mechanisms? | 2018 | Review | |
| Clinical applications of hallucinogens: A review. | 2016 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Reflections on Reductionist Clinical Psychological and Neuroscience Education: Putting the “Me” Back in Mental Disorders Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science 2026
- Dose-related reductions in prefrontal recruitment during cognitive reappraisal following oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in posttraumatic stress disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology July 16, 2026
Cites 29
- Causal association between cannabis and psychosis: examination of the evidence The British Journal of Psychiatry January 30, 2004
- Psychiatric effects of cannabis The British Journal of Psychiatry February 1, 2001
- Medicinal cannabis for psychiatric disorders: a clinically-focused systematic review BMC Psychiatry January 16, 2020
- Cannabidiol (CBD) content in vaporized cannabis does not prevent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-induced impairment of driving and cognition Psychopharmacology May 1, 2019
- The short-term impact of 3 smoked cannabis preparations versus placebo on PTSD symptoms: A randomized cross-over clinical trial PLoS One March 17, 2021
and 24 more in the library