In observation of National PTSD Awareness Day, Head Magazine is helping to increase awareness and understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We hope that anyone dealing with this condition will feel seen, heard, supported and encouraged. And we hope that the information we share will help to eliminate the stigma associated with PTSD, as well as the stigma associated with using medicinal cannabis (marijuana and CBD alike) to treat it.

Although some analysts dispute the notion that cannabis can treat PTSD (see the Opposing Views section), sharing it here furthers discussion on the potential of using it for that. Even if cannabis-derived medicine doesn’t work for all people with PTSD, it undeniably works for many of them. And many of those people – from combat veterans to survivors of abuse, accidents, disasters and other trauma – have tried everything else and gotten no relief. 

So, let’s talk about it.

What is PTSD?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), is regarded as the authoritative source for PTSD diagnostic criteria. The full criteria are copyrighted, but APA shares the following free-of-charge from DSM-5:

“[PTSD is triggered by] exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violation. The exposure must result from one or more of the following scenarios, in which the individual: directly experiences the traumatic event; witnesses the traumatic event in person; learns that the traumatic event occurred to a close family member or close friend (with the actual or threatened death being either violent or accidental); or experiences first-hand repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic event (not through media, pictures, television or movies unless work-related).”

APA goes on to clarify:

“The disturbance, regardless of its trigger, causes clinically significant distress or impairment in the individual’s social interactions, capacity to work or other important areas of functioning. It is not the physiological result of another medical condition, medication, drugs or alcohol.”

The behavioral symptoms of PTSD are grouped into four diagnostic clusters: 

  • Re-experiencing: repeated nightmares, flashbacks, etc.
  • Avoidance: external reminders and distressing memories about the event
  • Negative cognitions and mood: blaming yourself or others, showing less interest in your passions, blocking out memories of the event, etc.
  • Arousal: hypervigilance, aggression, reckless or self-destructive behavior, etc.

For complete information, purchase a copy of DSM. (Head Magazine receives no compensation for suggesting that.) For a diagnosis, consult a mental health professional; this article does not constitute a means of self-diagnosing.

Here’s how cannabis mitigates some of the behavioral symptoms in each of the four PTSD diagnostic clusters established by APA.

Treating Re-experiencing: Cannabis’s Nightmare Relief

Sleep occurs in multiple consecutive four-stage cycles, and dreaming occurs during the last stage, the one with rapid eye movement (REM). The stage before that, labeled Non-REM 3 (N3), has been identified as the body’s restorative stage. It’s when your body undergoes optimal physical and psychological rejuvenation. With each sleep cycle, N3 becomes shorter, and REM becomes longer. This means that your body and brain have ever less time to recuperate and ever more time to dream. 

The cannabis compound that changes the N3-to-REM ratio is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). When THC interacts with our body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), it alters the release of the three sleep-regulating neurotransmitters: serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. The result is that N3 is longer and REM is shorter, meaning that you have more time to recover and less time to dream. (Of note, you’ll get more out of N3 if you add another cannabis compound, cannabidiol [CBD], to your low-dose THC regimen.) So, although THC won’t make the nightmares stop, it will lower your chance of having enough time in your sleep cycle for them.

Treating Avoidance: Cannabis’s Memory-Counterbalancing Effect

Cannabis enhances the brain’s ability to form new memories, helping to counteract the imbalance between non-fearful memories and fearful memories. Although the distressing memories won’t disappear – nor should they, from a mental health standpoint (according to APA) – they’ll be met with competition for your attention.

The compound in the cannabis plant that achieves this is CBD. The brain’s neighborhood for memory is the hippocampus, and CBD binds with CB1 receptors in that area to activate memory and brain cell activity (among numerous other biological functions). The result is a boost in memory acquisition deriving from CBD’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. By reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, CBD is supporting neuronal survival and enhancing neurons’ plasticity, including neurogenesis in the hippocampal region.   

For our comprehensive analysis of cannabis’s restorative effect on the brain in this area, read “Can CBD Reverse Memory Loss?”.

Treating Negative Conditions and Mood: Cannabis’s Defender of the “Bliss Molecule”

Among the endocannabinoids in our body’s ECS is the “bliss molecule,” anandamide, known for its ability to induce joy. According to 2025 research, CBD can increase this molecule by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks down anandamide, which is fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). (That overturned a 2015 finding that CBD didn’t block FAAH in humans, only in other animals.) 

This is critical because low anandamide levels in the body have been linked to emotional dysregulation and psychopathology. Although there are drugs that inhibit FAAH, these invariably introduce undesirable side effects. Phytocannabinoids (i.e., compounds in the cannabis plant), on the other hand, are lauded for their ability to inhibit FAAH far more safely than any drug can. 

CBD’s defense of anandamide also treats another prevalent mental health issue, as we explore in “Endocannabinoids and Eating Disorders: How the Body’s Levels of Anandamide and 2-AG Are Implicated in Anorexia and Binge Eating”.

Treating Arousal: Cannabis’s Assistance with Managing Threat Cues

As research in the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design explains, PTSD can be conceptualized as a failure to inhibit inappropriate fear responses. Accordingly, by helping someone to control their fear responses, cannabis is treating PTSD at its core. 

According to research in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, THC facilitates “the extinction of fear.” It does this by inhibiting reactivity in the amygdala, a critical brain region for threat perception. More precisely, the anxiolytic effects of THC are mediated through direct and selective agonism of CB1 receptors localized within the basolateral amygdala. At low doses, THC has been proven to reduce threat perception and enhance socio-emotional regulation. 

Like THC, another all-natural psychedelic, the amanita muscaria mushroom, modulates the amygdala to deliver mental-health benefits. Learn about this in “The Other Magic Mushroom”.

Opposing Views

Two common counterarguments, along with our rebuttals, are the following.

“Cannabis use increases the likelihood of developing mood disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.).”

This argument conflates correlation with causation. Are the people depressed and anxious because they smoke weed? Or are they smoking weed because they’re depressed and anxious? The answer could be either of these, determined on a case-by-case basis. But the anti-cannabis lobby declares that weed causes depression in all cases simply because it’s present at the same time. 

Of note, University of Cambridge research published in 2024 demonstrated that cannabis-based medical products with THC or CBD were no less effective in treating PTSD in people with comorbid depression. So, even if they’re smoking weed because they’re depressed, weed (i.e., THC) can still help them with PTSD.

“Regular consumption of cannabis can result in cannabis use disorder.”

This is a gross oversimplification of addiction, which is rooted not in the substance abused – marijuana, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, shopping, gambling or any other self-destructive compulsive behavior – but in genetics. With that same argument, you can blame sun exposure for giving someone freckles and overlook the fact that the person’s genetically fixed pigmentation determined the probability of their freckling. 

Of course, those are merely surface-level debates. For comprehensive discussions of those and other counterarguments, consult “Cannabis and Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Sleep, and Cognitive Function Update and Review” and “Does medicinal cannabis work for depression, anxiety or PTSD? Our study says there’s no evidence.”

Conclusion

If you’re dealing with PTSD, find hope in knowing that treatments are available in more ways than side-effect-ridden, laboratory-manufactured substances. Talk to your physician about giving cannabis compounds a try, whether THC, CBD or any other.

And if you learned something about PTSD, spread the word. By helping to promote awareness and understanding of this disorder, you’ll make life that much less painful for those afflicted by PTSD. That can do more than you can imagine.

The information in this article and any included images are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations or your health, you should always consult an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.

Kathleen Hearons is a writer, editor, linguist and voice over actor from Los Angeles. She specializes in creative writing and research-intensive analysis and reporting.

 

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