VA DOCS PROHIBITED FROM RECOMMENDING MEDICAL MARIJUANA TO RETURNING VETS

The U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) recently adopted a policy
prohibiting VA physicians from recommending medical marijuana to their
patients, even if marijuana is the safest and most effective medicine
to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other
service-related conditions.

No doubt the policy stems, in part, from the VA's efforts to address
the serious problem of drug abuse among returning veterans. Veterans'
advocates and organizations like the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)
certainly share this concern; last fall, DPA issued a report calling
for immediate policy changes to improve veterans' substance abuse and
mental health treatment.

Yet seen from the larger perspective of helping veterans adjust to
civilian life, the VA's stance on medical marijuana is
counterproductive and harmful. The ban means that--despite their
service to our country--veterans who reside in the 14 states that have
legalized medical marijuana are denied the same rights as every other
resident of these states.

At minimum, the VA should be actively studying whether cannabis and
its unique chemical ingredients can be used to reduce post-combat
trauma without contributing to drug dependency. Ample research and
anecdote strongly suggest this is the case.

Patient reports and published research indicate that marijuana can be
a highly effective treatment for PTSD, a condition afflicting nearly
one in five veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And
overwhelming scientific evidence has already proven marijuana's safety
and efficacy for treating conditions like chronic pain, which affects
many combat-injured veterans.

Marijuana, moreover, carries none of the risks associated with
prescription drugs used to treat PTSD, which have been implicated in
the tragic overdose deaths of several current conflict veterans.

"I've run the gamut of different medications at the VA, and basically
I was at my limit," said decorated U.S. Army veteran Paul Culkin, a
New Mexico medical marijuana patient who suffers from PTSD after
serving in Iraq. "The medications were turning me into a
zombie...medical cannabis made me a father and a husband again. It's
been a blessing."

Disappointingly, however, it seems the VA's policy is not just about
preventing substance abuse among veterans. The VA claims the ban is
primarily a response to threats from the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) to prosecute VA doctors for recommending medical
marijuana, or for completing forms necessary for their patients to
enroll in a state medical marijuana program--even though to do so
would not constitute a criminal offense. Civilian doctors recommending
marijuana to their patients have not been arrested or threatened with
arrest.

Veterans and advocates are now urging the VA to stand up to the DEA's
harassment of veterans and remove the apparent gag order on its
doctors. Such advocates include Montel Williams, talk show host,
medical marijuana patient, and veteran of the United States Marines
Corps and Navy, who said:

"I find it egregiously offensive that we can send our children off to
die for our freedom, and then so callously turn our backs on their
freedom when they return home. Research has proven the efficacy of
medicinal marijuana in the treatment of PTSD. How dare we turn our
backs on those who did not hesitate to put themselves in harms way to
support and defend our Constitution?"

As a result of the ban, veterans who would benefit from medical
marijuana are forced to obtain medical advice about it from private
doctors outside the VA system--at their own expense.

Of course, veterans in states without medical marijuana laws fare far
worse. These veterans risk arrest for using marijuana to treat their
combat injuries, joining the more than 800,000 Americans arrested
annually for marijuana offenses. DPA's report advocates for sensible
policies to prevent the arrest and incarceration of veterans.
Protecting veterans who use marijuana is an obvious starting point. In
fact, other NATO countries not only allow their veterans to use
medical marijuana, but actually reimburse them for it. Sadly, it
appears U.S. troops will not come home to as enlightened or
compassionate a country.

Our veterans must not be treated like lesser-citizens. They deserve to
receive medical advice from their VA doctors, not the DEA. They
deserve, above all, the freedom to choose the safest and most
effective treatment for their conditions--whatever that treatment
might be. Paul Culkin said it best: "It would be inconceivable to
withhold weapons, equipment or training from our troops on the ground.
Why are we denied access to a medication that might provide relief to
us and our families when we come home?"