Israel is one of the few countries that have legalized medical marijuana. Today, the country’s medical marijuana program includes 12,000 patients, up from less than 2,000 in 2008.

The secret to its growth seems to be research involving actual cannabis users, which is cutting-edge compared to most parts of the world. In the past year, researchers in Israel have published studies confirming the effectiveness of marijuana in treating Crohn’s and Parkinson’s disease.

This has made Israel a key location for international groups such as California-based Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). While the organization’s interests span various psychedelic substances – including MDMA and mushrooms – MAPS’ work on marijuana inspires hope in the many who believe in its potential to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

One of these persons is Mimi Peleg – a clinical research associate with MAPS who worked on a study involving the use of cannabis as a treatment for 30 Israeli combat veterans. The study is currently being reviewed for publication, but showed “promising” results, Peleg told SALON in a recent interview.

We took 30 combat veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD and gave them cannabis over time, and did testing before, during and after.

Outside of research, Peleg also serves as the Director of Large Scale Training at the Medical Cannabis Distribution Center (MECHKAR) – a licensed marijuana supplier that serves thousands of patients from Israel’s Abarbanel Hospital.

She says despite the red tape involved with becoming a marijuana patient, there are currently about 200 patients in Israel approved to use cannabis for PTSD. And that number is on the rise.

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