Suicides Among Active Duty Troops

Here is a LTE (not yet published) written by a friend of mine.

The suicide rate among veterans is an American tragedy. It unconscionable not to use every treatment that may help these young people cope with their physical and mental pain.

Drs. D. Mark Anderson, Daniel Rees, and Joseph Sabia conducted a study published by IZA, “Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide.” They found that “…The legalization of medical marijuana is associated with a 5% decrease in the total suicide rate, an 11% decrease… [among] 20-29 year old males, and a 9% decrease… [among] 30-39 year old males.”

Possible explanations for the decrease include the neural protective and neural regenerative properties of cannabis and/or substitution of marijuana for alcohol.

Thousands of veterans petitioned the Obama Administration to: “Allow United States Disabled Military Veterans access to medical marijuana to treat their PTSD.” Their petition was answered not by the Veterans’ Health Administration but by the drug czar, an ex-policeman. He said smoked marijuana has not been found to meet the modern standard of effective medicine.

Al Byrne, co-founder of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access responded, “Vets have used cannabis for PTS since the Revolutionary War.” Michael Krawitz, executive director adds, “By a long shot, it’s better than the drugs they get at the VA.”

Here is an article in my local paper on military suicides: Suicides among active-duty U.S. troops averaging one a day!

Because suicides had leveled off in 2010 and 2011, this year’s upswing has caught some officials by surprise.

The reasons for the increase are not fully understood. Among explanations, studies have pointed to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of prescription medications and personal financial problems

Here are some studies provided to me by the LTE writer to back up the points made:
Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide.

Using state-level data for the period 1990 through 2007, we estimate the effect of legalizing medical marijuana on suicide rates. Our results suggest that the passage of a medical marijuana law is associated with an almost 5 percent reduction in the total suicide rate, an 11 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 20- through 29-year-old males, and a 9 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 30- through 39-year-old males.

Military veterans say pot eases PTSD.

…despite warnings from medical staff at the local veterans hospital, he began to smoke pot legally under the state’s new medical-marijuana program to cope with the physical and mental pains of combat.

“My doctors shunned me and didn’t approve of me doing it,” said Herrera, a Purple Heart recipient. “One doctor said I could get some repercussions for doing it. But I did it legally. And I know for a fact — I’m a walking testimonial — that it works.”

And of course our Commander in Chief has chimed in. White House To PTSD Veterans: No Medical Marijuana For You.

“First, President Obama’s administration ejected medical marijuana patients from the workplace then he threw them out of public housing then took away their ability to buy a gun then closed down their dispensaries and now he has apparently set his sights on veterans,” said Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access (VMCA).

Thousands of veterans asked the Obama Administration to at look into the science showing how cannabis works to alleviate suffering and save lives of veterans with brain injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and to then make appropriate changes in policy. “Allow United States Disabled Military veterans access to medical marijuana to treat their PTSD,” the petition simply requested.

But the White House response to the veterans’ petition was very disappointing. “We asked for a change in policy,” Krawitz said. “To have our petition answered by the drug czar, an ex policeman, is most inappropriate given the drug czar is bound by law to ONLY discuss current law and has no power to discuss policy change with the public.

Prohibition must go on. Backing up the above studies Krawitz continues:

With suicides outnumbering combat fatalities by a ratio of 25 to 1, according to Dr. Julie Holland, editor of The Pot Book, “This, given how effectively cannabis works to save lives, is an unacceptable loss,” Krawitz said.

Recent research has revealed two things of great importance. One is that suicide rates drop around the implementation of medical marijuana laws, and the other is that new research indicates similar brain changes from athletic head injuries, military head trauma and brain changes from Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

The latest research shows how a human body-wide set of control functions called the Endogenous Cannabinoid Receptor System may be activated or augmented by the ingestion of cannabis, which has both neural protective and neural regenerative properties to help relieve these difficult-to-treat medical conditions.

A former Naval Officer speaks out.

Al Byrne, retired Naval officer and cofounder of VMCA, was blunt in his assessment of the White House’s disregard for injured veterans.

“Vets have used cannabis for PTS since the Revolutionary War,” Byrne said. “We know what we need and to be told by our President, the Commander in Chief, that he does not care about those he has sent to war by denying medicine to the wounded is unconscionable.”

I understand the reticence of the President. How do you keep the military in the drug war if you authorize med pot for treating veterans and active duty military? The only answer to that question is to screw the troops. The Drug War must go on.