Brooke Simpson-Veterans Groups Push for Medical Marijuana to Treat PTSD

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/us/medical-marijuana-veterans.html

Veterans Groups Push for Medical Marijuana to Treat PTSD

            American Legion, a diverse, bipartisan veterans group has pushed for soldiers to have access to medical marijuana.  Soldiers return from war with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries that often lead to suicide, but American Legion thinks that cannabis helps these veterans.  Joe Plenzler, a spokesperson for American Legion, says that veterans have turned to medical marijuana and that it helps their moods, thoughts of suicide, alleviate chronic pain, and reduce muscle spasms.  The Legion has petitioned Congress to remove marijuana from the list of Schedule 1 narcotics, drugs that have “no accepted medical use” and to reclassify it to a lower schedule.  They also want the DEA to fund growers for medical research.  There is very little research of marijuana, they face many barriers from federal agencies and short supply.  The other problem of the classification is that many veterans cannot get coverage from the Veterans Affairs Department.  The American Legion published a phone survey of over 800 veterans and caregivers and 92% said they supported research for meI dical cannabis, and 82% said they wanted it as a legal option.  Because of the federal ban, veterans are supposed to stay away from cannabis, and veterans have been put in a difficult situation.  Many Americans seem to be open to medical marijuana use, but the Justice Department has caused problems for these people.  President Trump supported medical marijuana in his campaign, but Jeff Sessions has made it very clear that he does not approve.  Recently, Sessions said that he would consider expanding supply of research marijuana.  Veterans groups say that the best was to help veterans is to reschedule the drug, which would lead to more research because the boundaries will have been lifted, but think that getting the legislation through Congress is far off.  The bill puts marijuana in Schedule 3 with codeine and anabolic steroids. 

           

            The article was written by Reggie Ugwu for the New York Times on November 3, 2017.  I am not aware of any legal changes in marijuana, and I am sure that passing anything will take time, so this article is pretty up to date.  I think that most people know that veterans return home after war not the same, but I did not know that people think that marijuana can help them.  The article was written for veterans, but also people who rely or are hoping to rely on medical marijuana.  The article puts medical marijuana in a really good light, it doesn’t discuss any downsides of using it.  The article is biased towards using the drug, so it is important to remember that there are two sides of every story, and this only shows one.  The article was written to inform people about the veterans groups push for medical marijuana research and possible usage.  The article is important because it is trying to persuade, even though I think it is supposed to inform, people about the research and use of medical marijuana by veterans.  If the drug is moved to Schedule 3, it could lead to possible recreational use in some states.  The use of medical marijuana can be compared to doctors in the 1800s using anesthetics on their patients.  People of different parties and different backgrounds had different views on anesthetics, but now they are very common.  In a few generations, will marijuana be legal for medical use?  If it is, how to doctors prescribe it?  How will the government try to restrict it if they do at all?