There’s an excellent OpEd at Alternet, written by Penny Coleman, the widow of a Vietnam veteran who took his own life after coming home: 10 Reasons the U.S. Military Should (Officially) Use Pot
I know this is an issue of some importance to a number of our regular readers.
Lots of good points… here are some interesting ones:
Restore the reputation of the VA among veterans.
After all the criticism of the VA for limiting access, shredding claims, misdiagnosing illnesses as a cost-saving trick and using soldiers as uninformed guinea pigs to test pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide and other violent side effects, veterans invited by the VA to knowingly participate in a marijuana study might be inclined to allow the euphorogenic qualities associated with cannabis to blur their outrage, even to the point of forgiveness.
Israeli rats have less stress than American soldiers.
In an article published in the September issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, Israeli scientists revealed that injecting synthetic marijuana into the brains of rats allowed them to recover faster from trauma. In fact, it “cancelled out the symptoms of stress.” […]
Soldier Suicides […]
Soldier suicides are at an all-time high and so are prescriptions for all kinds of new and dangerous drugs. Nobody can say for sure if there is a connection between those two facts, and I would never suggest that marijuana could or should take the place of SSRIs or any other drugs proven to be effective in managing PTSD. Or that marijuana could prevent soldier suicides. But the vast majority of drugs the VA prescribes for PTSD are known to worsen depression, increase suicidal thinking or increase risk of death in enough people to warrant the warning.
The same is not true of marijuana.
Supporting our troops is not accomplished by putting a ribbon on your car or a God Bless America poster in your window. More soldiers are surviving combat these days but coming back with serious conditions that need help. How can we be said to be supporting our troops when we force veterans to turn to street criminals to score medicine that will help them?
Have not received info on the veterans marijuana study yet,but looking forward to it. Will report,first hand on its contents and the manor they conduct it in.
As with all government studies,they may be looking for harm instead of good.
With all the studies and anecdotal reports on the relieving of stress accomplished by marijuana,it may actually be an effort by thr VA to find an alternative
medication that is safe and effective,I surely hope so.
Thanks for bring this up, Pete. Much of MSM glosses over the PTSD/Cannabls commection. So far, the Univ. of Haifa and the Israeli Army are the only ones to take notice. When I enter the VA, the coversation usually goes like this:
DR. What meds are you taking for your PTSD?
Me. None.
DR. You’re not taking anything???
Me. I didn’t say that Doc. I found something that works.
Dr. What is it?
Me. Sorry, Doc. I can’t tell you. Neither this State nor the VA are considered “compassionate” entities.[End Of Subject]
While they may put down what they “think” I said, it’s not my words so I’m not held accountable for some Doctor’s brain fart.
I have “inhaled” Cannabis now for over 40 years, every day, and it’s been MONTHS since I’ve had any nightmares or “episodes.” While sative doesn’t do much for the PTSD, indica, on the other hand, is God-Sent! Don’t Smoke Cannabis!!! Vavorize it!! Your “stuff” lasts longer.
MAPS, founded by Rick Doblin, has been funding clinical trials in Israel and Switzerland on the efficacy of MDMA as a treatment for PTSD. Their results have been very encouraging. For more info, visit maps.org.
Hey, Clay,
Tune me into whatever you find out. I’d like to take a little vacation up del Norte and see what sort of BS they’re trying to apply. Maybe we can hit them together. LOL
“Our problems stem from
our acceptance of
this filthy, rotten system”
~ Dorothy Day
U.S Soldiers Are Waking Up! U2b
Sure sounds like fascism to me… USA! Qaeda
“Our problems stem from
our acceptance of
this filthy, rotten system”
~ Dorothy Day
Ganja 4 PTSD & Depression
Many Veterans are the Enemy of the D.E.A.th War Jun 08, 2006
Sam Stone came home, To his wife and family After serving in the conflict overseas. And the time that he served, Had shattered all his nerves, And left a little shrapnel in his knee. But the morphine eased the pain, And the grass grew round his brain, And gave him all the confidence he lacked, With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back. There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes…
Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access
How can we be said to be supporting our troops when we force veterans to turn to street criminals to score medicine that will help them?
We are all criminals in their minds(governments). Whether your in a cage or on a leash makes no difference.
Its just that your comfort level depends on how hard you resist them.
Openly resist by breaking their laws, its a cage.Quitely resist them under breath ,your allowed your own place and a pay check. Cage or leash?
“A great deal of intelligence can be invested
in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.â€
~ Saul Bellow
Once the illusion is exposed,the ignorance of it all will be apparent ,then the investment will no longer be needed for intellegence will have won.
Was in Nam in 68 and have used marijuana since,sativa and indica,mostly sativa and I thought I was pretty much over it until recently.
Due to copd,caused by cigarettes,and sleep apnea,the VA had me try a cpac breathing machine at night,while you sleep. The mask brought on dreams I haven’t had for years,
probably because of the trapped sensation when trying to sleep with it on.
Apparently they are right that you never get completely over ptsd.
I took their machine back and told them that dieing from an enlarged heart was better than going through that crap again.
“There is no marijuana problem in America,I can find marijuana in any town in America.”
Again I point to my friends at Salem-News.com. Dr Phil Leveque was one of Oregon’s first docs to overwhelmingly support the state’s OMMP. He signed up so many patients, teh establishment went after him and revoked his privileges. Dr. Phil fights on, advocating for vets, working with vets, writing at Salem-News… he’s in his 80s, a WWII vet, and can be found at Salem-News or at VMMA:
Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access
Salem-News.com Articles written by Dr. Phil Leveque
For you VNvets, my favorite MAP archive story: Dave Herrick’s Strange Odyssey Through The U.S. War On Drugs
My #2 MAP vet story (though definitely not a favorite): Ex-Marine’s Widow Sues Over Shooting
Clay,
There is NO cure. Only a way to “cope” more easily. Oh, and to add to my “narrative” above, I also have to tell them that I live, not in the US, but in a “compassionate” country. That slow broil is so noticable. LOL
5;30 am my house on fire, didn’t know if my sweetie made it out,, sitting naked in the back of a cop car while they searched for her inside,, was my PTSD moment. She was OK,, It was May 88 and has only been since about 2006 I finally getting some deeper sleeps, even better on Marijuana.
Disclaimer; standard 10mg THC cigarette 77x11mm roach size 15x8mm administered under unsterile non-laboratory conditions humidity88 temp74 wind NW at 15 airquality 4.2 moderate particulates. Lighting 40w Blacklightx4 Music; Rammstein
“Compassionate” country huh EZ? From the looks of things ,the US government is start ing look like the ol’stick in the mud with all the “compassionate ” countries popping up around it lately.
That’s the “land of the free” for ya, Just Me. Because, you know, freedom only covers the right to own things that are used to kill people rather than access to things that could help people.
Well, Just Me,
From the discussions I’ve had with my cop buds here, no one is going to jail for a joint, roach or seeds now. And, as long as you’re in your own house and not raising hell, there’s no concerns. How’s that for “compassionate?” BTW, 1.5oz bag goes for $150P which is about 1960s prices.
erzydn,that they are backing off is good,but for how long
and what happens if they are called to a house for some other reason and smell smoke? Or you get a neanderthal cop that lives to bust hippies? We don’t want backed off,
we want legal. It is a mistake to relax because they do,the next regime in DC could undo all that we have done by simply changing their policy.
“Marijuana is addictive to people the same way sex is,anything that good needs repeating!”
While it’s true that other occurrances within the residence might bring them coming, it won’t be for smell only. Any incoming regime can change things, we all know that. That’s why we need to solidify our positions while we can. I haven’t noticed many, as you call them “neaderthal cops” down here. None of the shoot’em first and ask later like you have up there. Don’t hear of much dog shooting down here either. BTW, they caught Leyva’s brother yesterday, the Leyva #2. No shots fired. The Gulf cartel is loosing administrators quickly.
I was a soldier who never saw battle against a foreign enemy. However, my childhood was filled with the fear of being beaten by my step-father for anything that might make him mad. These were not swats on the ass they were fists, or belts or anything he could find to beat you with. After years and years of that abuse I found cannabis and even though I knew it was illegal (and my step-father would beat me some more), Lord help me, it was and is the ONLY THING that helped me to overcome the feelings of fear I have all the time.
I wish some of these holier than thou prohibitionists had to walk a mile in my shoes and then tell me the medicine that I have used for over 25 years doesn’t work and that I should just snap out of it and stop feeling the way I do.
that’s just it Cliff… they won’t walk a mile in anyone’s shoes. They won’t discuss Donald Scott, Zeke Hernandez, Peter McW, Ronnie and Charity Bowers… such is the poverty of their morality and the honesty of their intellect. Their arguments come from a true factual wasteland and their “evidence” is but a poorly constructed facade of faux science. Exactly why all these years of our collective effort spreading the science (a quick thanks here to Al Gore for inventing the internet – our best tool) is now producing fruit.
And OT… I highly recommend seeing Avatar! Just got back. 3 thumbs up!
I’m an OEF veteran, long time reader. Marijuana is an effective way to deal with post-military emotional issues.
Hi bud would it be ok if we took some info from here to use on one of our blogs? cheers mate
sleep apnea may seem harmless but they can really trigger some other bad effects on your health ‘