Israeli study shows promising results for medical marijuana in trauma

By Maureen Meehan

A recent clinical study conducted by Soroka University Medical Center and Israeli medical cannabis company Cannbit-Tikun Olam (TASE:TKUN) showed promising results, particularly for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Jerusalem Post reported.

Notably, a number of cannabis-treated patients discontinued or reduced their doses of opioids by 52%, antipsychotics by 36.9%, antiepileptics by 35.7%, and hypnotics and tranquilizers by 35.3%. Overall, more than two-thirds of the patients reported at least moderate improvement without serious side effects, with 90.8% of the treated PTSD patients being classified as a therapy success after six months.

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Other benefits included a reduction in tantrums, restlessness, nausea and trouble sleeping. Almost half of the patients reported that their quality of life improved during the treatment.

The study, conducted over several years, focused on 8,500 male and female Israelis, with an average age of 54.6 years, using marijuana strains developed by Cannbit-Tikun Olam.

“We have shown in the past that treatment with medicinal cannabis products reduces symptoms and improves patients’ quality of life,” said Lihi Bar-Lev Schleider, the company’s Head of R&D. “This is the first time that a thorough, organized and systematic analysis of a large amount of data has been performed on a very large patient cohort, in which the effect of the treatment for different indications has been examined in an unbiased manner.”

An exclusive and mutual cooperation agreement was signed by Cannbit-Tikun Olam and Teva Pharmaceuticals in December last yearthe former’s products being distributed by the latter throughout Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

“The medical cannabis arena is evolving and professionalizing at a dizzying pace in Israel, and there is more openness to it in Israel and globally,” said Yossi Ofek, CEO of Teva Israel.

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“Today, it is clear to many in the pharmaceutical industry and medical community that the use of oils made from certain strains of cannabis can offer additional treatment options and address unmet medical needs of patients. I have no doubt that the medicinal cannabis oils that Cannbit-Tikun Olam manufactures to Teva’s high quality and safety standards will help us achieve our goal of improving patients’ lives.”

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.