VA doctors prohibited from prescribing medical pot

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - When Paul Culkin came home to New Mexico after serving with an Army bomb squad in Iraq, he tried counseling and medications offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs to cope with his post traumatic stress disorder.

Nothing worked very well. Then he found a new alternative: marijuana.

New Mexico is the only state that explicitly allows people with PTSD to smoke pot under its medical marijuana law - an issue that is getting attention around the country at a time when traumatized vets are coming home from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in large numbers.

New Mexico's medical marijuana law has created a conundrum for the Veterans Affairs, which does not allow its doctors to prescribe pot because the drug is illegal in the eyes of the federal government. So, patients like Culkin must seek out an endorsement from a private doctor.

/snip

"The irony in this ... is it's a common thing for veterans to tell me, 'The VA is telling me if I just stay away from medical marijuana, we'll give you all the pills you want, morphine, whatever,'" he said.


http://www.wave3.com/global/story.asp?s=12231915

so they are doing everything they can to prevent its use.

The VA would rather a Vet become an alcoholic, or otherwise addicted to some unknown pharmaceutical. Than smoke a Joint, alleviate his PTSD and actually function in society.

Profit Trumps All

Usually I'm all against the big pharma train, however this is the right policy. Medical Marijuana's evidence as an effective drug against pain and PTSD is very weak. (I know i have read the studies and I am a physician who works at the VA from time to time) There are no studies which effectively establish a therapeutic dose, route of administration or anything. I for one would prefer if my tax dollars supported something that has at least some evidence of efficacy when prescribed by a physician. Now, legalizing marijuana and getting it on your own without a prescription is another thing entirely.

"There are no studies which effectively establish a therapeutic dose, route of administration or anything."

yet as a "doc" you could do a study.
No studies done is just another example of the outright dismissal of MMJ's potential.

hell the FDA approves of drugs like Vioxx routinely (that go on to kill via its side effects.) yet years of illegal use with NO adverse side effects (nor deaths) is dismissed because "There are no studies"...

From TMCnet.com
March 09, 2010

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/03/09/4665075.htm

Joycelyn Elders, MD, former US Surgeon General, wrote, "The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day." While studies show that therapeutic cannabis aids in pain relief, helps physical conditions to improve and allows the ageing population to function with increased capability, the medical marijuana movement still faces some tenacious opposition. On the other hand, it also has some unwavering proponents, including talk show host, Montel Williams.

In addition, President Obama has commented on the subject, stating that even though he's not familiar with all the details of the initiative that was passed and what safeguards were in place, he thinks the basic concept of using medical marijuana is entirely appropriate when legitimately prescribed by doctors and used as a treatment for illness in the same way and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors.

Eugene Espinosa, President of GTLA, commented, "CTS has been developed to identify the best therapeutic practices for medical marijuana users. According to www.marijuananews.org, the State of Colorado has legalized marijuana for medical use, and has placed it in the Colorado Constitution, Article XVIII 14, the Supreme Law of Colorado. Therefore, Compassionate Therapeutic Solutions is in the right place at the right time to provide clinical care to those individuals who have been prescribed therapeutic cannabis for medicinal, pain relief purposes. Our goal moving forward is to educate the community on the benefits that this resource provides to qualified, registered patients when used under the proper care and supervision of licensed professionals, like those who staff CTS."
........

My son has Progressive MS and it is devastating to see him in pain! His MS has affected his brain, kidneys, and every organ of his body. He is currently thinking about taking a medication that has the possibility to kill him and it may be his only choice. I would urge anyone who is against this to consider the fact that if it works to give some kind of quality of life to the user then it should be allowed because it could be you or your loved one next that has to live with some kind of unbelievable pain and suffering.

it's a 24- page report issued by the California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR).

Link; http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/CMCR_REPORT_FEB17.pdf

another link; http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/geninfo/research.htm

Medical professionals that have done research, and have proof of it's efficacy, check out their reports and disagree with their findings. I'm just relaying the info. to help inform those that don't know.