Pubdate: Sun, 11 Dec 2011 Source: Province, the (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: Http://Www2.Canada.Com/Theprovince/Letters.Html Website: Http://Www.Theprovince.Com/ Details: Http://Www.Mapinc.Org/Media/476 FIGHTING THE BATTLE FOR POT PRESCRIPTIONS War Veteran Dealing With Ptsd With Marijuana Chris Hillier's Life Bottomed Out in a Vancouver Back Alley, a World Away From the War Zone That Broke Him. Homeless, Penniless and Addicted to Crack Cocaine, Hillier Slept Behind a Community Centre, at the Intersection of Hastings and Main, the Epi-Centre of the City's Drug Trade. Three Years Earlier, Hillier Was in the Midst of a Successful Military Career, Serving His Country As an Air Force Firefighter Aboard Hmcs Preserver in the Middle East in the Months After the 9/11 Attacks On the U.S. His Tour With Operation Apollo Took Him to the Gulf of Oman, The Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. but the Constant Stress of Working in a Theatre of War Left Him With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, A Condition He Believes Was Worsened by Conventional Pharmaceuticals Prescribed by Military Doctors. Today, Hillier Is Off the Streets and Clean Because, He Says, of A Treatment Few in the Canadian Military Like to Discuss: Medical Marijuana. Hillier, 35, Is One of Just a Handful of Veterans WHO Are Treating Their Ptsd With Cannabis and Getting It Paid for by Veterans Affairs Canada. the Department Says 26 Vets Are Getting Support for Participation In Health Canada's Marijuana Medical Access Regulations Program. Ten Use It to Treat Ptsd, Even Though the Canadian Forces Shun the Drug For Medical Use. the Use of Marijuana to Treat Ptsd Is a Contentious Issue, Particularly in the U.S., Where Thousands of Veterans Have Recently Returned From Combat. Despite Pressure From Soldiers WHO Served in Iraq and Afghanistan Claiming the Drug Helps Them, and Advocacy by Some Doctors, the U.S. Military Has Resisted Calls to Make It Available to Injured Soldiers. the U.S. Veterans Administration Also Does Not Consider Marijuana A Suitable Treatment for Ptsd and Will Not Help Its Clients Obtain It In Any of the 16 States It Is Currently Available Medicinally. the Canadian Forces Will Not Consider Prescribing Marijuana to Active Members WHO Might Have the Same Health Issues, Either. a 2007 Directive Sent to Canadian Forces Doctors Specifically Forbids Them From Helping Patients Get Marijuana. the Forces Will Pay for Authorized Health Canada Marijuana If Members Get Approved by Another Doctor, but Base Pharmacies Will Not Participate in Its Supply. to Treat Ptsd, the Forces Say They Have a Mental Health Program That "Provides Dedicated and Responsive Care for Ill and Injured Cf Members." but Chris Hillier Blames That Approach for Pushing Pharmaceutical Drugs on Him and Putting Him on the Path to Cocaine Addiction. Though He Hadn't Been Diagnosed, Hillier Was Already Showing Signs Of Ptsd When He Came Back From War. He Lost Interest in His Work. He Was Argumentative and Couldn't Sleep. He Chose Not to Renew His Military Contract and by the Time He Left, He Was Dealing With Serious Drug Addiction Issues. There Was An Assault Charge on a Police Officer. Another Charge for Uttering Threats. He Lost Custody of His Children. "It Was Really a Downward Spiral," He Says, Adding That Only After He Started Using Marijuana in Vancouver Did He Find Some Relief. It Helped Control His Anxiety and Let Him Sleep. He Put on Weight He Had Shed During His Addiction. Hillier Went Home to Newfoundland and Entered Rehab. Doctors Gave Him Psychiatric Drugs but He Flushed Them Down the Toilet and Kept Using Cannabis. "I Was Buying It on the Street, Growing It Illegally in My Basement," He Says. "It's What Worked. Despite the Fact It Was a Crime, I Had To Have Some Quality of Life. I Had to Have Some Stability. The Conventional Drugs Just Created More Problems." He Shook His Addiction to Hard Drugs and Eventually Told His Doctor In Newfoundland the Secret Behind His Recovery. She Agreed to Sign His Application to Enter Health Canada's Medical Marijuana Program. Veterans Affairs Agreed to Pay for the Marijuana, As Long As He Bought It From Health Canada's Supplier. Hillier Says Marijuana Can Be More Effective in Treating the Ptsd Symptoms Than the Anti-Anxiety Pharmaceuticals That the Military Health System Prescribes. the Forces and Veterans Affairs Should Offer the Best Treatment For Members With Ptsd, Just As They Would for Soldiers With Physical Injuries Sustained on Duty, He Says. "They Have a Legal and Moral Obligation to Fix You." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.