Pubdate: Thu, 04 Oct 2012
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2012 The Register-Guard
Contact: http://www.registerguard.com/web/opinion/#contribute-a-letter
Website: http://www.registerguard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362
Authors: Alan Cohn and Brian Michaels
Note: Alan Cohn, M.D., is the psychiatric physician for Lane County 
Adult Corrections. Brian Michaels is an attorney in Eugene.

MARIJUANA SHOULD BE ALLOWED AS PTSD THERAPY

In Oregon we are at a political crossroads concerning the politics of 
medical marijuana and the politics of supporting the nation's troops.

Many veterans returning from two wars suffer from severe physical 
disabilities and post-traumatic stress syndrome. PTSD sufferers are 
growing in number, and little treatment is available. A large 
percentage of those sufferers report a marked improvement in their 
overall quality of life and family relationships with the use of 
medical marijuana.

So we, as a state, are being pressed to choose between a distrust of 
marijuana and the support of our troops.

Whatever one's political opinion about these wars, we as a nation 
extend our appreciation and support to our veterans. The problem is 
that the American government, through the U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Agency and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, does not permit 
testing of marijuana for medical purposes - testing that might reveal 
symptomatic benefit from marijuana for medical purposes.

The federal agencies do allow and pay for testing that might reveal 
adverse consequences from the use of marijuana - but not for 
benefits. And the only supply of marijuana approved for testing is of 
low-quality material from a single source, not the strains that have 
been developed that appear to have greater medicinal potential.

For example, in April 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 
recognized research from the Multidisciplinary Association for 
Psychedelic Studies to evaluate whether smoked or vaporized marijuana 
might help reduce PTSD symptoms in 50 veterans diagnosed with PTSD 
but for whom conventional therapy has been unsuccessful. Six months 
later, the National Institute on Drug Abuse declined to accept the research.

When the science is so contaminated with politics, we need look 
elsewhere to address this problem. MAPS has also filed a lawsuit to 
allow marijuana to be obtained from a source other than the federal 
farms in Mississippi that produce a single strain of low-quality material.

Why not simply trust our troops when they report some improvement to 
their lives? PTSD is a recognized disorder, with specific 
identifiable symptoms to support diagnosis. These symptoms can 
include night terrors, panic attacks and certain anti-social 
behaviors. Opiate pain pills are not serving our troops, yet the DEA 
prefers this medication for our troops.

Israel, as you can imagine, is a nation with a large number of troops 
diagnosed with PTSD. The Israeli government, however, does not place 
politics above its veterans. Israel has conducted studies on cannabis 
and its benefits to those suffering from PTSD.

According to a presentation at the Cannabinoid Conference in Bonn, 
Germany, last month, "Israeli researchers are convinced that 
post-traumatic stress disorder patients using medical cannabis had 
significant improvement in high quality of existence ... with a few 
positive alterations in harshness of post traumatic stress disorder."

This is consistent with what one of our authors, Dr. Alan Cohn, has 
experienced as the psychiatrist overseeing the Lane County jail. In 
the 35 years he has provided services to Lane County Adult 
Corrections, he reports that many patients support the fact that 
medical marijuana helps people suffering from PTSD to remain in the 
community, often leading productive and high-functioning lives. 
However, when the source of people's medicine is removed or they are 
legally prohibited from using it, increased PTSD symptoms result in 
behavioral and emotional instability, which frequently results in a 
return to jail. Families confirm this sad and unnecessary outcome. 
The results include a great expense to society, fragmented families 
having to go on public assistance, traumatized children and real 
criminals having to be released because of overcrowded jails.

 From Cohn's perspective, this is a cruel and unnecessary outcome for 
our veterans who have sacrificed for our country. A prohibitionist 
mentality leaves these men and women to suffer when intelligent 
regulation, education and taxation would provide a superior outcome.

In the words of Abraham Lincoln, "Prohibition goes beyond the bounds 
of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by 
legislation and makes crimes of things that are not crimes."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom