Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2016
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2016 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/press/letterstoeditor.html
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Lawren Linehan

SOME JOIN TOUR OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY

Veterans recently joined a tour of a local dispensary and testing lab 
to tell their stories of how medical marijuana has improved their 
lives since they left the military.

The tour was hosted by the Las Vegas Medical Marijuana Association, 
which was formed to promote the medical marijuana industry in Nevada. 
The association recognizes the use of cannabis to treat veterans with 
post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments.

"Marijuana changed my whole life," said Cristina Alfonso-Zea, an Army 
veteran who uses medical marijuana to treat PTSD. "From the time I 
left the military, I attempted suicide every year."

She said she first turned to alcohol, synthetic marijuana and other 
drugs to cope.

"After a while, opiates don't work," she said.

Now Alfonso-Zea holds a weekly group discussion for veterans at Oasis 
Medical clinic to educate them about the benefits of medical marijuana.

Pot offers Alfonso-Zea and other veterans, like Top Gun Commander 
Shane Terry, the relief they need.

Terry is a medical marijuana patient who uses the substance to help 
with chronic pain caused by an injury he suffered in combat.

While some veterans try multiple pharmaceutical drugs such as 
anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medication, mood stabilizers and 
narcotics before turning to cannabis, Terry avoids all pharmaceutical 
drugs, even Tylenol.

He uses marijuana at bedtime to relieve his neck pain and help him sleep.

"Twenty-two veterans a day commit suicide," Terry said. "And about 10 
percent of your veteran community suffers from substance abuse."

The owners of Silver Sage Wellness, the dispensary explored on the 
tour, pride themselves on offering relief for patients such as 
Alfonso-Zea and Terry. Owners Pam and Jim Blasco got into the 
business to help their two disabled sons.

"There's the special-needs community and the PTSD with the vets who 
are sitting there suffering through, and we as a society have just 
kind of gone by it," Jim Blasco said. "It's time to start addressing it."

Seth Holycross, an Army veteran, helps grow marijuana for the Silver 
Sage dispensary. He also is a patient who uses the plant to treat his PTSD.

Holycross tried therapy, sleeping pills, anti-depressants and 
anti-anxiety medication before turning to cannabis.

"They would make me sick," he said of the drugs. "I couldn't get out 
of bed at times. I would miss work because of it. I just had to get 
away from that stuff."

Holycross said he prefers a more natural treatment.

Nevada has some of the strictest testing laws of any state, according 
to Savino Sguera, director of DB Labs, the first lab certified by the 
state to test marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom