Texas veterans are rejecting a new report that marijuana does not good in helping treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The study by the Veteran’s Health Administration says it cannot recommend marijuana as a treatment, citing the fact that not enough research has been done on the topic, largely because of marijuana’s uncertain legal status.
But Texas Army veteran Dave Bass, who works with the pro marijuana group NORML Texas specifically to win legalization of medical marijuana, says, in his experience, marijuana is very useful in fighting the major symptoms of PTSD.
“Cannabis helps me deal with the symptoms of PTSD, and this was after I had done my own research and experimented with different strains of cannabis,” he said.
Bass says one big reason why the VHA doesn’t have the data on medical marijuana that it needs is that the government itself put up roadblocks to medical marijuana research.
“I have never spoken to any veteran who did not have a positive experience in using cannabis for the symptoms of PTSD, rather than the pharmaceutical drugs,” he said.
In addition, veterans say marijuana does not have the sometimes debilitating side effects of using pharmaceuticals.
During the Regular Session of the Legislature, veterans repeatedly marched in support of Medical Marijuana laws. At one point they stacked empty pill bottles several feet high in front of the state capitol, to demonstrate the expensive and potentially psychotropic drugs that could be replaced by legalizing the use of marijuana for PTSD treatment.
credit:woai.iheart.com
