Emily Rigby, Thomas Huppert and Brian White
Australian Institute for Medical Cannabis, Australia
Cannatrek Medical Pvt. Ltd, Australia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Neurol Neurophysiol
The cannabis plant has been used for thousands of years to treat neurological indications. A majority of current users source the plant and self-medicate. PTSD diagnosis results from an inability of sufferers to properly process traumatic events. There is a 600% increase in suicide risk among acute sufferers and many die with the condition. The negative impact is transgenerational and cost to community and country is enormous. The Australian Institute for Medical Cannabis (AIMC) believes one of the most at-risk groups is sufferer from PTSD. Medicinal Cannabis (MC) legislation recently introduced in Australia allows research and use of MC to treat wide range of diseases in humans. A number of at-risk groups have been identified in the community for clinical trials. Current PTSD treatment regimens for military veterans claim over 80% success rates, although the suicide statistics tell another story. Around the world, PTSD related suicides among this group tend to heavily outnumber battlefield casualties. An estimated 8% of the population suffers PTSD symptoms. Although some research has been done with cannabis to treat PTSD, evidence of its efficacy is inconclusive. AIMC proposes a 12 month MC study involving diagnosed PTSD patients. The study aims to test the efficacy of various genetic of MC in the treatment of PTSD and correlate current patient use with reaction analytics from existing and new patient data bases. Our aim is to develop an alternative treatment of PTSD that may promise a better quality of life to diagnosed PTSD patients and their families.
Emily Rigby has completed a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. She is the Director of Research Programs for the Australian Institute for Medical Cannabis (AIMC), a not-for-profit research organization committed to open science research into medicinal cannabis, building awareness and sharing knowledge and Director of Research and Compliance for Cannatrek Medical, a fully licensed Australian medical cannabis enterprise. She is the President of the Australian Society for Horticultural Science, Director of Protected Cropping Australia and a 2016 Nuffield Australia Scholar. She taught scientific research methods at the University of the Sunshine Coast for 8 years.
E-mail: emily.rigby@cannatrek.com
