Medical Marijuana for PTSD bill fails in Illinois

Sadly, the initiative to add PTSD to a list of qualifying ailments in the state of Illinois has failed. Efforts were made to add the diagnosis and the push gained momentum through the Illinois House and Senate. When the bill landed on the governor's desk he failed to sign it into law citing a lack of research that medical marijuana helps those with post traumatic stress disorder. Hopefully, there will be some sort of reorginatization and appeal effort by the activists pushing for PTSD patients.

I am a patient with PTSD. I have been hospitalized four times as an inpatient for my condition. I have found that medical marijuana helps me cope with my condition and its effects upon my life. I feel the prime benefits of medical marijuana for post traumatic stress disorder are:

• Lifting of depression
• enchanced sleep
• increased appetite 
• lower anxiety 
• greater sense of well being

My condition consists of insomnia, hypervigellance, depression and panic attacks. I experience flashbacks often. Sometimes I just get zoned into to the military past. Cannabis helps me detach from that. While I am disappointed that the medical marijuana initiative failed, I think in the near future it will be of little consequence as our nation slowly moves towards legalization. With legalization, more research will come to see of what benefit medical marijuana has on PTSD.Different strains of cannabis can provide different therapeutic effects for patients. Some strains are depression lifting, while others can be anxiety reducing. Some strains will put you to sleep gently. The effects that cannabis has on cancer cannot be understated. It seems as if CBDs and THC help kill cancer cells.

Do any of you use cannabis for PTSD?