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Monday, June 30, 2014

Texas veterans fight for medical marijuana


Seems as if everyone is making money off veterans suffering with PTSD. Drug companies make money off medications. Private doctors make money off the overflow of patients the VA doesn't have time to see. Charities make a lot of money off raising funds to raise awareness and some of them even do the work to raise their spirits and help them heal instead of putting money first. With medical marijuana, it is more of the same. Does it work for some? Yes, it does.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta comes out in support of medical marijuana for PTSD after many years of being against it. He studied the research done and stopped listening to people talking without a clue.

Medical Marijuana helps veterans calm down and relax. Much like meditation and yoga help along with talk therapies, it gets the pressure off for a while.

Experiments in animals show that tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical that gives marijuana its feel-good qualities, acts on a system in the brain that is "critical for fear and anxiety modulation," says Andrew Holmes, a researcher at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. But he and other brain scientists caution that marijuana has serious drawbacks as a potential treatment for PTSD.

The drawback is that this cannot be the only thing used to treat PTSD, especially PTSD caused by Combat which is totally different than any other category of causes. As there are different levels, there are also different causes but one thing remains constant in all PTSD cases. It has to be a triple approach treating the mind, body and spirit. Leave one out and you don't have healing. Leave out the spirit and you have numbing.
Some military veterans say marijuana Is saving lives
My FOX Houston
By Alexander Supgul
Digital Content Manager
Updated: Jun 30, 2014 3:58 PM EDT

Veterans say marijuana is saving lives, but here in Texas, smoking a joint to treat post traumatic stress disorder makes them criminals. Some hope our war heroes will play a role in changing minds at the state capitol.

Leaving combat experiences behind is tough.

"I don't believe you can go through something like that and not be affected in some way," said a veteran named Josh.

Josh did three tours as an Army sniper. He's been shot at seen buddies killed and had to dodge grenades. His new battle is back in Houston, fighting sleeplessness, anxiety and anger.

"If people are doing something stupid on the roads, which is often, I lose it. Sometimes I would do that in front of my kids. I could tell they were like, 'That's not like daddy,'" he said.

Desperate, Josh has found relief in pot twice a day. The one thing he says helps treat his PTSD makes him a criminal in Texas.

"That's my medicine. It gets me through the day. I don't want to say I wouldn't be able to survive without it, but I'm a lot better of a person."

If it weren't for marijuana, Josh says he'd look like the vet in this picture, drowning in a sea of prescribed pills.

"Over and over, Sally, the people I talk to say they felt like a pilled up zombie. 'I wanted to get my life back, and marijuana helped me get my life back,'" said William Martin, director of drug policy at Rice University's Baker Institute.

Martin interviewed several veterans for an article in June's Texas Monthly.
read more here

My advice on this is simple. Talk to your doctor if your medication is not working for you. Your system is not the same as your buddies. If you are self medicating with drugs or drinking, stop. It is not helping even though for a time you think it makes you feel better. If medical pot is legal in your state, get a prescription from your doctor, don't just buy one.

If you are thinking it will solve all your problems, it won't. You need to take care of the whole you. Take care of your body by doing physical things, walking, swimming, running, yoga and meditation. Take care of your spirit as well because the weight on your spirit is doing the most damage. Find forgiveness for yourself and anyone else you believe harmed you. Find peace and work to hold onto it.

Learn all you can about what PTSD is and why you have it because it comes from the strength of your emotional foundation. That same ability within you allowing you to risk your life for someone else is what has allowed you to feel as much pain as you do. It was not out of weakness, but out of strength.

If what you are doing is not working, don't give up. Keep trying to find what works for you.

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