FIGHTING THE BATTLE FOR POT PRESCRIPTIONS

War Veteran Dealing With Ptsd With Marijuana

Chris Hillier's Life Bottomed Out in a Vancouver Back Alley, a World
Away From the War Zone That Broke Him.

Homeless, Penniless and Addicted to Crack Cocaine, Hillier Slept
Behind a Community Centre, at the Intersection of Hastings and Main,
the Epi-Centre of the City's Drug Trade.

Three Years Earlier, Hillier Was in the Midst of a Successful Military
Career, Serving His Country As an Air Force Firefighter Aboard Hmcs
Preserver in the Middle East in the Months After the 9/11 Attacks On
the U.S.

His Tour With Operation Apollo Took Him to the Gulf of Oman, The
Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. but the Constant Stress of Working
in a Theatre of War Left Him With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, A
Condition He Believes Was Worsened by Conventional Pharmaceuticals
Prescribed by Military Doctors.

Today, Hillier Is Off the Streets and Clean Because, He Says, of A
Treatment Few in the Canadian Military Like to Discuss: Medical Marijuana.

Hillier, 35, Is One of Just a Handful of Veterans WHO Are Treating
Their Ptsd With Cannabis and Getting It Paid for by Veterans Affairs
Canada.

the Department Says 26 Vets Are Getting Support for Participation In
Health Canada's Marijuana Medical Access Regulations Program. Ten Use
It to Treat Ptsd, Even Though the Canadian Forces Shun the Drug For
Medical Use.

the Use of Marijuana to Treat Ptsd Is a Contentious Issue,
Particularly in the U.S., Where Thousands of Veterans Have Recently
Returned From Combat.

Despite Pressure From Soldiers WHO Served in Iraq and Afghanistan
Claiming the Drug Helps Them, and Advocacy by Some Doctors, the U.S.
Military Has Resisted Calls to Make It Available to Injured Soldiers.

the U.S. Veterans Administration Also Does Not Consider Marijuana A
Suitable Treatment for Ptsd and Will Not Help Its Clients Obtain It In
Any of the 16 States It Is Currently Available Medicinally.

the Canadian Forces Will Not Consider Prescribing Marijuana to Active
Members WHO Might Have the Same Health Issues, Either.

a 2007 Directive Sent to Canadian Forces Doctors Specifically Forbids
Them From Helping Patients Get Marijuana.

the Forces Will Pay for Authorized Health Canada Marijuana If Members
Get Approved by Another Doctor, but Base Pharmacies Will Not
Participate in Its Supply.

to Treat Ptsd, the Forces Say They Have a Mental Health Program That
"Provides Dedicated and Responsive Care for Ill and Injured Cf Members."

but Chris Hillier Blames That Approach for Pushing Pharmaceutical
Drugs on Him and Putting Him on the Path to Cocaine Addiction.

Though He Hadn't Been Diagnosed, Hillier Was Already Showing Signs Of
Ptsd When He Came Back From War. He Lost Interest in His Work. He Was
Argumentative and Couldn't Sleep.

He Chose Not to Renew His Military Contract and by the Time He Left,
He Was Dealing With Serious Drug Addiction Issues. There Was An
Assault Charge on a Police Officer. Another Charge for Uttering
Threats. He Lost Custody of His Children.

"It Was Really a Downward Spiral," He Says, Adding That Only After He
Started Using Marijuana in Vancouver Did He Find Some Relief.

It Helped Control His Anxiety and Let Him Sleep. He Put on Weight He
Had Shed During His Addiction.

Hillier Went Home to Newfoundland and Entered Rehab. Doctors Gave Him
Psychiatric Drugs but He Flushed Them Down the Toilet and Kept Using
Cannabis.

"I Was Buying It on the Street, Growing It Illegally in My Basement,"
He Says. "It's What Worked. Despite the Fact It Was a Crime, I Had To
Have Some Quality of Life. I Had to Have Some Stability. The
Conventional Drugs Just Created More Problems."

He Shook His Addiction to Hard Drugs and Eventually Told His Doctor In
Newfoundland the Secret Behind His Recovery. She Agreed to Sign His
Application to Enter Health Canada's Medical Marijuana Program.

Veterans Affairs Agreed to Pay for the Marijuana, As Long As He Bought
It From Health Canada's Supplier.

Hillier Says Marijuana Can Be More Effective in Treating the Ptsd
Symptoms Than the Anti-Anxiety Pharmaceuticals That the Military
Health System Prescribes.

the Forces and Veterans Affairs Should Offer the Best Treatment For
Members With Ptsd, Just As They Would for Soldiers With Physical
Injuries Sustained on Duty, He Says.

"They Have a Legal and Moral Obligation to Fix You."