If Cannabis Treats PTSD, What Will Patrick Kennedy Do?

With the recent approval of a study to gauge the efficacy of cannabis as a treatment for PTSD, it’s only a matter of time until scientists verify what many have long ago figured out on their own: cannabis helps with stress of all kinds.

PTSD comes from many different causes and each case is also different in how it manifests and to what degree a person is affected. I do not personally suffer from PTSD, but I have known and lived with people who do. It truly is a complex and heartbreaking condition to observe and I hold nothing but the kindest of thoughts for those who carry this burden. Whether your PTSD is a result of a combat experience, a sexual assault, mental thuggery or any other origin, one fact is common throughout: it is a paralyzing influence that grips its victims and creates psychological prisons in which they feel trapped.

I am just thrilled that cannabis has (finally) been approved to be studied as a treatment for these people. I will not go so far as to promise a “light-switch” type of cure or even offer details about what cannabis use will do to combat this condition, but I do know that cannabis has the potential to really help unpack the mental anguish that roots PTSD. I will have my ear to the ground on this topic as it develops. Does cannabis in itself have some compound that can counter PTSD? I don’t know; not likely. But can it be a nepenthe on a wounded mind that can mitigate the paralyzing influence of fear and truly allow room for healing? I believe so.

My real question (and reason for writing this piece) is: How will Project SAM react to the (personally expected) reality of cannabis bringing relief?

I mainly ask because Patrick Kennedy, a founding member of Project SAM, has been an enormously loud voice in support of mental health issues. If (as expected) cannabis proves to be a viable treatment for PTSD, on which side of that line will Kennedy place himself? If he has any hopes of maintaining relevance, I think he should drop SAM and take up the cannabis cause. In fact, Kennedy’s continued support of mental health issues has been his one redeeming quality in my eyes. It is the sole thing that separates him from everyone’s favorite pontificating windbag, Kevin Sabet.

It may come down to a veritable Rubicon for Kennedy. What if staying loyal to Project SAM means that countless PTSD victims (soldiers, rape-victims, abused children, etc.) will be prevented from using a totally safe substance than may be the only thing that quiets their nerves/minds enough for healing to begin?

What’s it going to be, Pat? Will you stop trying to champion an outdated, dying cannabis zeitgeist and truly help open doors to bringing relief for mental disease? You don’t have to do much, just get out of the way of progress, and pour all your energy into the mental health movement, a truly worthy cause.