Disabled Veterans Going a Long Way for Relief

Marijuana Refugees: Wounded Veterans Willing to Move for Medicinal Pot
Military.com
by Rebekah Sanderlin
Dec 09, 2015

Two Army doctors even suggested that their family move from North Carolina, where medical marijuana is not legal, to a state that allows use of medical cannabis. Those doctors said that marijuana would likely be a safer substitution for his myriad prescriptions.

In this photo taken Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, marijuana is measured in 3.5-gram amounts and placed in cans for packaging at the Pioneer Production and Processing marijuana growing facility in Arlington, Wash. Elaine Thompson/AP

Last month, the U.S. Senate passed legislation with a provision that would allow Veterans Affairs Department doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients in states where the drug is legal.

The language, which hasn't yet passed the House, would not change existing laws that prevent possessing or distributing marijuana on VA property, nor does it do anything for veterans in the states where medical marijuana is not legal. But for veterans and their caregivers pushing to make the drug a legal option for all, it's a welcomed start. And for some, like the spouse of a retired Army Green Beret, it's a reason to become a "marijuana refugee."

Her husband served 26 years on active duty before he was medically retired because of the mental and physical injuries he racked up during a career that included more than 50 combat missions. Like other sources interviewed for this story, the woman requested that Military.com withhold her name so she could speak freely about the issue.
read more here