Leave Veterans Out of the War on Drugs

by Chris Cassidy · 2010-05-19 18:26:00 UTC
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There's a clash between two of President Obama's policies, and he has to determine which one is more important: giving our veterans the best care possible, or continuing prosecution of the war on drugs. In our ninth year in Afghanistan, and our seventh in Iraq,  the administration seems poised to let veterans' best interests take a back seat to the federal prohibition on medical marijuana.

As Te-Ping's reported, even in states that have legalized medical marijuana, the Department of Veterans Affairs is telling doctors that they'll lose their medical licenses if they even inform veteran-patients about the benefits of medical marijuana. So far, over 4,000 Change.org readers have told the administration to leave veterans' medical care between the patients and their doctors, but veterans' care continues to take a back seat to the war on drugs.

In New Mexico, where medical marijuana is legal under state law, policymakers have determined that the drug is an effective treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The one-fourth of the state's 1,600 medical marijuana patients who suffer from PTSD seem to agree — patients, for example, like Army bomb squad veteran Paul Culkin.

Culkin's PTSD traces back to his 2004 service in Kosovo, where he was subjected to a car-bombing while trying to save an innocent bystander. Culkin and his wife Victoria credit medical marijuana with making his PTSD manageable. "At one point, we almost got a divorce, and I can honestly say that I think medical cannabis saved our marriage," Victoria Culkin recently told NPR.

When governments interfere with patient-doctor relationships, women are denied reproductive rights, terminally ill patients are refused death with dignity and veterans are denied access to a drug that would treat a condition caused by their service to the country. Whether to use medical marijuana is a decision that should be left to veterans and their doctors: Tell the Obama administration to butt out of the relationship.

Photo Credit: The U.S. Army

Chris Cassidy writes on law, judicial nominations and the Constitution as they pertain to criminal justice reform and women's rights.
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