Military veterans across the country will learn whether marijuana can treat post-traumatic stress disorder effectively after a Colorado-funded study received groundbreaking approval from the federal government this week.

The go-ahead from the Drug Enforcement Administration is the first time that the agency has given permission to use raw marijuana in a placebo-controlled clinical trial on PTSD, according to the study’s supporters. Researchers in three states worked for the better part of a decade to win the approval.

“Mostly we’re just grateful that we get to see science move forward,” said Dr. Sue Sisley, one of the study’s leaders.

Sisley and her colleagues plan to start as early as next month enrolling 76 veterans in the study at clinics in Phoenix and Baltimore. They will test how well smoking marijuana of different strains and potencies treats PTSD. All of the cannabis is being supplied by the federal government’s marijuana farm at the University of Mississippi.

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DENVER, CO – JULY 15: The Colorado Board of Health had a rule making hearing about people with PTSD qualifying for medical marijuana at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment offices in Denver. Christopher Latona, center, and his dad Mike Latona, left, both testified in support of approving medical marijuana for PTSD which Christopher has suffered from since returning from his US. Army service in Afghanistan. They were photographed on Wednesday July 15, 2015. The board voted 6-2 not to approve the change. (Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post )

Cyrus McCrimmon