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Title: Feds Recognize Power of Pot, Approve Bill Allowing Vets Access to Medical Marijuana
Source:
Free Thought Project
URL Source: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/se ... na-states/#4oui37js0qgDZXoC.99
Published: Nov 12, 2015
Author: Jay Syrmopoulos
Post Date: 2015-11-13 09:23:57 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 418
Comments: 5
Washington, D.C. – A potentially historic piece of legislation passed the Senate on the eve of Veterans Day, which includes provisions that gives Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors’ the ability to recommend medical cannabis to patients in states where medical marijuana is legal. The provisions were added as part of an amendment in the Senate Appropriations Committee this spring. “Veterans in medical marijuana states should be treated the same as any other resident, and should be able to discuss marijuana with their doctor,” said Michael Collins, deputy director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. “It makes no sense that a veteran can’t use medical marijuana if it helps them and it is legal in their state.” The Veterans Equal Access Amendment passed Committee in an 18-12 bipartisan vote, with the bill being sponsored by Republican Senator Steve Daines and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley. The next step for funding the bill is reconciling it with the House version as part of an omnibus spending bill, according to the Drug Policy Alliance. According to a report from the Drug Policy Alliance: In 2002, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in Conant v. Walters the right of physicians to recommend medical marijuana, regardless of its illegality under federal law, as well as the right of patients to receive accurate information. The Daines-Merkley amendment supports that first amendment right and restores a healthy doctor-patient relationship. The VA currently prohibits its medical providers from authorizing patients to participate in state medical marijuana programs. The Daines-Merkley amendment authorizes VA physicians and other health care providers to provide recommendations and opinions regarding the use of medical marijuana to veterans who live in medical marijuana states. This victory is just the most recent step in the march towards legalization of medical cannabis in the United States. Regardless of your stance on wars of aggression in the Middle East, returning soldiers deserve the same advanced medical treatment that other people receive. The usual treatment for PTSD is “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors” (SSRIs) which have a notorious reputation, being highly correlated with suicide and killing sprees. Perhaps it is no coincidence that veterans commit suicide at the alarming rate of 22 every day. However, clinical research shows that medical marijuana is highly effective for treating PTSD, and it does not have the dangerous side effects of SSRIs. Yet medical marijuana has been denied to veterans because of archaic, asinine drug policies. There is no timeline for when the House will vote on the Senate bill. 
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
Well, this will upset some around here. Si vis pacem, para bellum Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.” - George S. Patton
I don't know if the feds recognize the curative power of pot so much as the pressures of demography and an intense propaganda/public relations campain over a period of 50 years on progressively weak generations. The feds are ovewhelmed by the futility of dealing with a increasing proportion of goofs on the outside as well as those who have infused to the inside.
So, in other words you want to deny veterans access to a product that has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD. Got it. In a Cop Culture, the Bill of Rights Doesn’t Amount to Much Alleviating the symptoms is not the same thing as alleviating the cause. I had a cardiac pacemaker put in. It may have saved my life. But the problem is not in my SA node but in a spinal injury that regulates the SA node. I am in the gym trying to correct my spinal injury which is also producing other problems.
Clinical research? Here's the "clinical research": -- New Mexico listed post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a condition for the use of medical cannabis. -- 80 PTSD patients applied for the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program between 2009 and 2011. -- The Clinician Administered Posttraumatic Scale for DSM-IV (CAPS) was administered retrospectively and symptom scores were then collected and compared in a retrospective chart review of the first 80 patients evaluated. -- The result was a reported 75% reduction in CAPS symptom scores when patients were using cannabis compared to when they were not. Translation: 80 people signed up for medical marijuana claiming PTSD. When later asked if it helped, 75% said, "Uh, yeah. Sure did." That's your clinical study.
" Feds Recognize Power of Pot, Approve Bill Allowing Vets Access to Medical Marijuana "
#2. To: Deckard (#0)
(Edited)
Feds Recognize Power of Pot, Approve Bill Allowing Vets Access to Medical Marijuana
#3. To: rlk (#2)
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts
#4. To: Deckard (#3)
So, in other words you want to deny veterans access to a product that has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD.
#5. To: Deckard (#0)
"However, clinical research shows that medical marijuana is highly effective for treating PTSD, and it does not have the dangerous side effects of SSRIs."
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