Early in the afternoon on Veterans Day, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo undoubtedly played a role in saving the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands, of veterans’ lives in his state.
All it took on his part was the stroke of a pen.
As part of a package of legislation he signed to mark Veterans Day, post-traumatic stress disorder was added to New York’s list of conditions that can be treated with medical marijuana.
19,000 New York veterans with PTSD can now be helped by medical marijuana, along with police officers and survivors of domestic violence, crime, and accidents.
And in doing so, he added New York to a long list of states that have already taken this important step to provide relief for suffering soldiers.
Of the 29 states, territories, and Washington D.C. that allow medical marijuana, only five do not list PTSD as an automatically qualifying condition.
Of those five holdouts, all now allow broad discretion by the patient’s physician on the matter.
This has been a rapid change for veterans and doctors alike. In the past year, 11 states adopted this position.
But federal policies block veterans from utilizing a truly effective treatment option with far fewer and less severe side effects than the dozens of drugs being fed to veterans through the VA.
Earlier this month, the demand to act was taken to the U.S. Congress in a major way.
Veteran Support Surges
On November 2nd, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives came together with several combat veterans and the mother of a Marine who committed suicide after struggling with prescribed pharmaceuticals to urge Congress to advance medical marijuana research and clear the way for legalized medicinal use.
The news conference also announced a survey by the American Legion showing that support among veterans for legalizing medical marijuana has surged to a strongly compelling all-time high.
We already knew that a vast majority of Americans, including majorities of both Democrats and Republicans, support legalizing medicinal use.
Now, through America’s largest veteran’s organization, we know that 81% of veterans and 83% of their caregivers support the federal legalization of marijuana to treat a physical or mental condition.
Over 90% of both support research, and one in five veterans is currently using cannabis to alleviate a medical or physical condition, regardless of the legality of it where they live.
As such, the American Legion has become one of the strongest advocates for rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act to permit research in its efficacy for chronic pain and PTSD affecting veterans.
It has also called on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to clear the way for a large-scale clinical study funded by Colorado, already approved by the DEA, to study the use of medical marijuana for PTSD in veterans in particular.
A measure by the Legion that would permit VA doctors to green-light access to medical marijuana in states where it is legal already passed a key Senate budget committee vote in July with a 24-7 vote.
A Clarion Call to Action
We can only hope that Congress will finally listen to the will of the people and veterans and act accordingly.
Researchers, doctors, veterans, and their families are all calling on it to follow the will of four out of five Americans and clear the way to move forward.
Federal law is essentially forcing VA medical professionals to break the oaths they take by continuing to rely on cocktails of antidepressants, powerful opioids that are fueling a veteran drug abuse epidemic, and other pharmaceuticals with questionable benefits, but very real and dangerous side effects.
While two-thirds of Americans live in states that allow medical marijuana for PTSD in the civilian population, VA medical professionals are still explicitly barred from even discussing marijuana therapy.
The body of evidence overwhelmingly supports medicinal use for PTSD, leading to an overwhelming chorus of supporters for change to federal policies.
Civilians are seeing the full benefit. Companies are using innovative ways to finance their operations, access for patients is improving in the U.S. and Canada alike, and shares are soaring once again as all signs point to continued rapid growth for years and decades to come.
But for veterans suffering from some of the worst chronic pain and PTSD medical professionals can or will ever see, Congress sits squarely in the path of progress.
And it is causing far too much suffering and costing far too many veterans’ lives, far from the battlefield.
Lets hope that after this Veterans Day’s bipartisan announcement and amplified pressure by the American Legion, Congress will finally start doing something meaningful to heal and save veteran lives.
