Cannabiskonsum in Verbindung mit kurzfristiger Linderung von PTBS-Symptomen bei Veteranen | An Tagen, an denen Veteranen über längere Zeiträume von Cannabis hoch waren, meldeten sie tendenziell weniger PTBS -Symptome und niedrigere negative Auswirkungen.
Cannabis use linked to short-term relief of PTSD symptoms in veterans
8 Kommentare
As an avid cannabis user this always gets me. On one hand cannabis – makes ya paranoid. Well known. On the other hand DOESNT make you paranoid about your PTSD. So hey. That’s good. I’ll just keep worrying, irrationally, about my bills.
From the article: An ecological momentary assessment study of U.S. veterans found that days when participants reported a greater number of PTSD symptoms were followed by days when they experienced higher levels of negative affect, and vice versa. On days when veterans reported being high from cannabis for longer periods, they tended to report fewer PTSD symptoms and lower levels of negative affect. The paper was [published](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116626) in Psychiatry Research.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event such as combat, assault, accident, or disaster. It is characterized by intrusive symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, or distressing memories that make the trauma feel as if it is happening again.
People with PTSD tend to avoid reminders of the event, including places, conversations, or activities linked to the trauma. They also experience negative changes in thoughts and mood, such as guilt, shame, emotional numbness, or feeling detached from others. Another core feature is hyperarousal, which can manifest as irritability, difficulty sleeping, an exaggerated startle response, or being constantly “on guard.”
Study author Jordan P. Davis and his colleagues wanted to explore the associations between daily variations in PTSD symptoms, cannabis use, and negative affect. They aimed to better understand how fluctuations in negative affect influence cannabis use when PTSD symptoms change at the daily level, and vice versa. Negative affect refers to a general experience of distressing emotions, including feelings like fear, shame, irritability, and nervousness. Unlike clinical diagnoses such as depression, negative affect is a broader indicator of unpleasant emotional states.
One of my biggest symptoms from PTSD is terrible nightmares. Guess what marijuana subdues? Dreams and nightmares. And during the day I feel less „on edge.“
When I travel I don’t smoke or bring it with me and I always end up really tightly wound and jumpy and flinchy and aggro. I don’t use it when I travel because it’s a drug and I feel shame for „needing it“ but I really wish I didn’t feel that way.
Anecdotal (and not a veteran) but, as someone with C-PTSD, cannabis has been an absolute lifesaver. Definitely less symptomatic on it, especially the hyperarousal.
The key though is to see what happens after a couple years of cannabis use. You always have to assume that the brain will compensate for any drug treatment.
Weed made me more functional despite the impairments. Then I completed 2 types of trauma therapy. Now, it doesn’t. I just get high.
CPTSD here (making the distinction from PTSD as I am not a combat vet). It’s a double edged sword. While high, it’s like I don’t have the symptoms, but when sober, it’s all the harder to manage them.
Which is crazy because smoking weed eventually gave me constant anxiety attacks, which is why I just quit all together using THC for anything.