Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Recently, The Center for Investigative Reporting produced a widely distributed report on "doped-up" veterans at the VA Medical Center in Tomah. Sadly, this came to their attention after the overdose deaths of a Wisconsin veteran seeking relief there.
First of all, let us remember that prescription drug abuse and deadly overdoses are not something new in Wisconsin. The Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have done reports on problems with prescription drugs in general and opiates in particular. Prescription opioids claim the lives of about 300 people annually, according to state data.
The death rate for marijuana (cannabis) abuse was – zero.
Second, the use and abuse of opiate prescriptions, shown to be extreme at the Tomah VA, is not at all unusual in the VA system. Sometimes veterans in physical pain or suffering from depression or PTSD may get insufficient help from the doctors. Sometimes they get too much.
According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control, there were 41,502 U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2012, 53 percent were related to prescription pharmaceuticals.
More optimistically, other studies show that states with legal medical marijuana had fewer painkiller drug overdose deaths than states which criminalize cannabis. The respected Journal of the American Medical Association reported that fatal overdoses caused by prescription painkillers dropped by 25 when cannabis became legal for medical and recreational use. The study expects fatalities to continue to drop as cannabis reform spreads across the nation, allowing civilians and veterans to legally and safely access the herbal remedy.
"We think that people with chronic pain may be choosing to treat their pain with cannabis rather than with prescription painkillers, in states where this is legal," according to Dr. Marcus Bachhuber, with the Philadelphia VA medical clinic.
Coincidentally, on the day after the report on the Tomah VA, a doctor was interviewed on the CBS morning news about the over-prescribing of opiate drugs. He reported that it is a $600 billion business in the U.S. despite the fact that more people die from the legal drugs than illegal drugs. "We need new ideas," said the doctor.
Maybe we need an old idea. The good doctor didn't mention that cannabis has been used to relieve pain and depression for centuries, and has done so safely and without addiction. The Veterans Administration has a clear mission to take care of the veterans who have served our country. If it takes a plant to give them relief instead of an expensive pharmaceutical, the VA should make that happen.
In December, a small group of Congressmen introduced a measure to allow VA doctors to recommend medical cannabis.
According to Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D—Ore., "post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury are just as damaging and harmful as any injuries that are visible from the outside. Sometimes even more so because of the devastating effect they can have on a veteran's family. We should be allowing these wounded warriors access to the medicine that will help them survive and thrive, including medical marijuana, not treating them like criminals and forcing them into the shadows. It's shameful."
Indeed. Let's not do that anymore.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana can be a natural remedy for vets: column
Author: Jim Maas
Contact: opinion@wausaudailyherald.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Daily Herald Media | Wausau news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Wausau, Wisconsin | wausaudailyherald.com
First of all, let us remember that prescription drug abuse and deadly overdoses are not something new in Wisconsin. The Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have done reports on problems with prescription drugs in general and opiates in particular. Prescription opioids claim the lives of about 300 people annually, according to state data.
The death rate for marijuana (cannabis) abuse was – zero.
Second, the use and abuse of opiate prescriptions, shown to be extreme at the Tomah VA, is not at all unusual in the VA system. Sometimes veterans in physical pain or suffering from depression or PTSD may get insufficient help from the doctors. Sometimes they get too much.
According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control, there were 41,502 U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2012, 53 percent were related to prescription pharmaceuticals.
More optimistically, other studies show that states with legal medical marijuana had fewer painkiller drug overdose deaths than states which criminalize cannabis. The respected Journal of the American Medical Association reported that fatal overdoses caused by prescription painkillers dropped by 25 when cannabis became legal for medical and recreational use. The study expects fatalities to continue to drop as cannabis reform spreads across the nation, allowing civilians and veterans to legally and safely access the herbal remedy.
"We think that people with chronic pain may be choosing to treat their pain with cannabis rather than with prescription painkillers, in states where this is legal," according to Dr. Marcus Bachhuber, with the Philadelphia VA medical clinic.
Coincidentally, on the day after the report on the Tomah VA, a doctor was interviewed on the CBS morning news about the over-prescribing of opiate drugs. He reported that it is a $600 billion business in the U.S. despite the fact that more people die from the legal drugs than illegal drugs. "We need new ideas," said the doctor.
Maybe we need an old idea. The good doctor didn't mention that cannabis has been used to relieve pain and depression for centuries, and has done so safely and without addiction. The Veterans Administration has a clear mission to take care of the veterans who have served our country. If it takes a plant to give them relief instead of an expensive pharmaceutical, the VA should make that happen.
In December, a small group of Congressmen introduced a measure to allow VA doctors to recommend medical cannabis.
According to Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D—Ore., "post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury are just as damaging and harmful as any injuries that are visible from the outside. Sometimes even more so because of the devastating effect they can have on a veteran's family. We should be allowing these wounded warriors access to the medicine that will help them survive and thrive, including medical marijuana, not treating them like criminals and forcing them into the shadows. It's shameful."
Indeed. Let's not do that anymore.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana can be a natural remedy for vets: column
Author: Jim Maas
Contact: opinion@wausaudailyherald.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Daily Herald Media | Wausau news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Wausau, Wisconsin | wausaudailyherald.com
