Overview
- Charité researchers ran a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of nightly dronabinol over 10 weeks and reported the results in Nature Medicine on Aug. 5, 2026.
- On a 0–8 nightmare-burden scale the dronabinol group fell by an average of 3.7 points versus 2.2 points for placebo, and more than one-third of treated patients said their nightmares stopped entirely.
- The benefit targeted nightmares and sleep symptoms specifically and did not produce conclusive improvements in overall PTSD severity or comorbid depression.
- No severe adverse events or withdrawal were observed in the 10-week trial, though some participants reported mild-to-moderate effects such as dizziness, headache, or increased appetite.
- Researchers plan longer follow-up studies to test durability, safety and possible tolerance, and regulators will need longer-term evidence before changing clinical use under Germany's medical-cannabis framework.