Pubdate: Thu, 05 May 2016 Source: Montana Standard (Butte, MT) Copyright: 2016 Montana Standard Contact: http://www.mtstandard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/609 Author: Randolph Joe Wolf MONTANA MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW HURTS VETERANS I would like to take this opportunity to discuss a grave injustice that is being done here in Montana. All patients that are receiving opiates in Montana will have the prescription voided and not allowed to have any pain drugs from now on. What would normal working class people do if that really happened? This is happening to people here in Montana that depend upon medical pot and have since the law came about. Thousands of patients are abandoned by the new changes to this law. I'm a disabled Vietnam veteran with severe PTSD who has been taking medical pot two years and for the first time in many years, have been able to sleep. The VA will gladly provide opiate pain killers to me anytime I want. I don't want them. I was told by my caregiver, he can only take three patients and I'm out of luck. I supposedly have the legal right to grow pot, but a minimum of over $2,000 would be needed to start, and six to eight months to see any results. I neither have the time or money to do this. The people who pushed these changes through are responsible for thousands of honest Montana citizens being done a very gigantic disservice. I served this country and state, with distinction, in a horrible place, so I can have this happen to me years later. - -- Randolph Joe Wolf, Red Lodge - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom