Pubdate: Tue, 12 Jan 2016
Source: Daily Observer, The (Pembroke, CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Pembroke Daily Observer
Contact: http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/letters
Website: http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2615
Author: Stephen Uhler,
Page: A1

MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR VETS

Marijuana For Trauma opens its newest chapter in Ontario near Garrison
Petawawa

PETAWAWA - Soldiers in the Ottawa Valley now will have improved access
to the care and medicine they need to deal with the trauma of combat.

Marijuana For Trauma (MFT) has opened up a new chapter in Petawawa,
its first in Eastern Ontario, to provide alternative medical solutions
to members of Canada's Armed Forces, veterans and civilians. MFT has
been providing this service for well over two years from its base in
New Brunswick and this will be the sixth chapter and seventh office
they have opened to date.

Cory D'Andrea, vice-president of the Petawawa chapter, said the
company is owned and run by veterans, operating on a veterans helping
veterans principle.

"This is a clinic to help veterans, first responders and civilians to
get the support and treatment they need," he said, which is through
access and use of medical marijuana.

Chad Kendall, manager of the Petawawa office and chapter president,
said the primary objective of MFT is to reach out to as many veterans
with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain as
possible to help them.

"We want to assist them in getting legal coverage for medical
marijuana through the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and other sources,"
he said.

D'Andrea said MFT helps their clients get connected with doctors who
are friendly when it comes to prescribing marijuana, fill out the
necessary paperwork, and provide the support needed, ranging from
marijuana management, peer support meetings, yoga and meditation on a
weekly basis.

Kendall said MFT staff are all volunteers, aside from the
administration positions and all monetary gains are rolled back into
veteran programs to which they will be organizing.

"We believe, and facts show, that medical marijuana provides great
relief alternatively to traditional pharmaceuticals," he said, who is
using marijuana himself to deal with PTSD. "Many of the drug regimens
have side effects which can include suicidal ideation, erectile
dysfunction, numbness, etc. Marijuana shares none of these, and with
so many veterans committing suicide, we believe that cannabis has its
place in our treatment plan."

D'Andrea agrees, saying as a veteran also wrestling with PTSD and
chronic pain, he has tried conventional medications but found they
didn't work, or hampered him with all sorts of side effects. Using
marijuana eases his symptoms, without the side effects.

To date MFT has assisted more than 500 patients access a natural
choice medication and treatment for their injuries. MFT has been
profiled widely in media in the Maritimes where they already have four
offices and is featured in the current June, 2015 Edition of High
Times magazine.

The Marijuana For Trauma - Petawawa office, located at 2062 Petawawa
Blvd, is only seven minutes from Garrison Petawawa's front gates. It
joins Markham and Trenton as the first MFT Ontario branches as it
expands out of the Maritimes.

Fabian Henry, MFT's founder and CEO, said their focus is dealing with
trauma, which is why they are located close to combat bases. An
Afghanistan veteran like many of their clients, he found himself
living in his brother's basement with $44 in his savings account, as
he struggled with PTSD. Henry founded the first MFT in the Gagetown,
N.B. area in the spring of 2013 when he decided to help others like
him cope with it.

"Our focus is trauma," he said, noting they all have injuries -
whether physical, mental or emotional - and dealing with it in the
company of fellow veterans remains the most effective way for them.

Henry said the use of marijuana is controversial in some circles, but
then again, so is the acceptance of PTSD as a condition needing treatment.

"We're fighting these two stigmas together," Henry said. "Do you
support us or not?"

To find out more about the support and services being offered, go to
www.mftgroup.ca . To contact the local office in Petawawa, call Chad
Kendall, (613) 401-6197.
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MAP posted-by: Matt