Prescription drugs and medical marijuana continue to be at the center of an ongoing debate between those who are tasked with determining the best treatments for combat veterans who suffer from wartime ailments and those who have found temporary relief and even cures for Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) in medical marijuana.
In the movie When War Comes Home, Spencer – one of the soldiers highlighted in the film – shares with the interviewer how he was at one point taking more than 20 different prescription drugs daily in order to deal with his PTS.
The moment leaves the audience wondering how it is possible those drugs don’t cause more problems than cures.
A new Quinnipiac University National poll has found that 87% of Americans believe that VA doctors should be able to provide marijuana pills to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
In military households (where one family member is a veteran or on active duty military service), there’s 82% support for the proposition.
But regardless of the popular opinion and even some limited medical evidence, the Federal government doesn’t allow Veterans Affairs doctors to prescribe the drug (even in the 23 states that have legalized it for medicinal purposes) and has specifically prohibited them from even offering an opinion about whether it might help an individual patient.
Spencer eventually weaned himself off the drugs and found solace and a path to recovery through interaction with a service dog, proving to himself and to others, that his treatment wasn’t dependent on prescription drugs.
But like marijuana, service dogs are not covered by the VA either.
Only prescription drugs.
Bottom line: there is no one cure or path to recovery when it comes to Post Traumatic Stress. Should the only suggested and prescribed path be one that involves pharmaceuticals?
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The Military Wire, hosted by Mike Schindler, interviews some of America’s most elite men and women who have served this country in hopes that you the listener will gain an “ah-ha” moment that will help you move your life forward.
Mike is a US Navy Veteran, an award-winning author, and has been featured on Yahoo Finance, the Boston Globe, NY Post, USA Today, Q13 Fox, and numerous other media outlets discussing why today’s Veterans are truly one of America’s Greatest Assets. Mike is the author of two highly endorsed books, “Operation Military Family: How Military Couples are Fighting to Preserve their Marriages,” and “U.S. Veterans in the Workforce: Why the 7% are America’s Greatest Asset.”
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