Gaza Genocide22 May, 20262 min read
Israel’s Army Used Medical Cannabis After October 7, 2023, For PTSD Treatment
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Since Oct 7, 2023, Israeli soldiers received cannabis to treat PTSD. Official sponsorship backs medical cannabis use to treat PTSD in the army.
Gaza war and drugs
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli society and its army have used medical cannabis as part of posttraumatic stress disorder treatment protocols, with one report describing it as “a tool of mass sedation and a government-sponsored regulated addiction.” Orient XXI says “Since October 7, 2023, drugs have been administered to thousands of soldiers returning from Gaza,” and it lists cannabis and hashish alongside methamphetamine and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Al-Jazeera Net frames the surge as an official regulatory failure, saying the Israeli Ministry of Health “has completely lost control over handling this narcotic substance.” The same Al-Jazeera Net report ties the consumption spike to the war, stating that more than 85% of consumption motives were linked to the events of October 7, “along with pain and other indicators.”
Licenses and consumption
Al-Jazeera Net says the number of people with official licenses rose “from 33,000 in 2019 to about 140,000 consumers in 2024,” and it links that jump to periods of wars and security crises “especially since the events of October 7.”
The report adds that “87% of consumers rely on smoking as the primary method of consumption,” and it states that “98% of total licensed purchases are exclusively in the form of joints meant for smoking.”
It also reports that “88% of licenses issued are concentrated in products with very high levels of THC,” and it warns that “62% of users consume large quantities exceeding 30 grams per month.”
Orient XXI provides a counterpoint from medical voices, quoting Rokhama Morton saying, “Cannabis does not heal anything at all. It accompanies you.”
Debate over treatment
Al-Jazeera Net says the Israeli Ministry of Health medical committee acknowledged that current research “does not sufficiently prove long-term benefits of cannabis” and raises “serious concerns about potential deterioration of functional and cognitive abilities.”
It further argues that the system continues to dispense cannabis to returning soldiers, describing it as “a temporary analgesic and a mind-numbing drug to prevent their immediate collapse.”
Orient XXI quotes Ian Hamill, saying, “What about side effects? What about addiction?” while it also includes Dr. Michel Zeitoun’s concern that “we lack enough distance to judge this experiment.”
In parallel, the same Al-Jazeera Net report says the recommendations called for stricter reporting requirements on “fitness to drive and bearing arms,” tying the medical debate to internal security concerns.