Pubdate: Sun, 10 Jun 2012
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2012 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/lettertoed.cgi
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Suzanne Wills

CONSIDER ALL OPTIONS

The suicide rate among veterans is an American tragedy. It's 
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 
titled "Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide." They found that "... the 
legalization of medical marijuana is associated with a 5 percent 
decrease in the total suicide rate, an 11 percent decrease ... 
[among] 20- to 29-year-old males and a 9 percent decrease ... [among] 
30- to 39-year-old males."

Possible explanations for the decrease include the neural protective 
and neural regenerative properties of cannabis and the patients 
changing from using alcohol to using marijuana.

Thousands of veterans have petitioned the Obama administration to 
allow disabled U.S. 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 
that 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 added, "By a long shot, 
it's better than the drugs they get at the VA."

Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, Dallas
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