Pubdate: Sun, 02 Oct 2016
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Juris Graney
Page: 6

POT CENTRE OPENS FOR VETS SUFFERING PTSD

Western Canada's first medical marijuana support service focused on
helping veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain
opened in Edmonton on Saturday.

Reporter Juris Graney visited Marijuana for Trauma to find out what it
was all about.

Who are they?

"When I started this, I was suicidal," says Marijuana for Trauma CEO
and company founder Fabian Henry.

Deployed six times

The 12-year Canadian Forces veteran was deployed six times, including
two to Afghanistan.

His PTSD symptoms developed from events on his last tour and when
Henry returned to Canada, his life fell apart.

"I lost my wife, my kids, everything I'd worked for, my house,
everything I owned," he says.

When he tried cannabis six years ago, he ditched his meds, pulled his
life together and started his crusade to help veterans.

"I lived out of a box when I started this and I had $44 in my bank
account," he says.

"I was 30 years old and it was like the world lied to me about
marijuana because I felt this overwhelming good feeling when I used it
when my brain was telling me it was wrong."

The Cape Bretoner used a cafe with free internet and cheap coffee to
help veterans navigate the paperwork needed to access support programs
and medical marijuana to treat PTSD and depression.

On Saturday, Edmonton became the 12th location of a network that
stretches all the way across Canada to St. John's, Nfld. and is
targeted not just at military veterans but first responders and
civilians. What do they do? "Let's be clear: Marijuana for Trauma does
not dispense marijuana," says national business manager, Jean-Guy
Bourguignon.

What it does do, he continues, is "facilitate and support safe and
responsible patient access to medically prescribed cannabis by
providing links to knowledgeable physicians for those suffering from
PTSD, chronic pain and other conditions aided by medical marijuana."

Essentially, they help veterans navigate "the medical and pension
benefits maze of paperwork" while helping them source licensed
medical-grade marijuana.

They also offer support programs of counsellors, peer support
networks, and spousal and wellness programs.

They even offer cooking lessons with marijuana as a key ingredient and
are working towards incorporating more health services including
psychologists and social workers.

Why focus on marijuana to treat PTSD?

The company's clinical coordinator, Francois Halle, says medical
marijuana isn't a cure for PTSD, but that it helps with symptoms and
quality of life and different strains can be used to target different
symptoms.

For instance, some strains with high cannabidiol (CBD) - a
non-psychoactive compound of cannabis - are effective for the
treatment of pain and anxiety because the CBD counteracts paranoia
brought on by tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound that gets
people high.

Euphoric high

Other strains create a euphoric high that helps "relax the mind and
body" and can aid in getting to sleep.

"Selecting the right strain and preparing medicinal marijuana is not
always simple," Halle says.

"Whether ingesting it in gel cap form, incorporating it into an
edible, or smoking or vaping cannabis, patients need knowledge,
guidance and skill."
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MAP posted-by: Matt