Pubdate: Sat, 22 Jul 2017
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2017 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Authors: Evan Halper and Lauren Rosenblatt

AS TRUMP WAGES WAR ON LEGAL MARIJUANA, MILITARY VETERANS SIDE WITH

POT

U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is pressing Congress to allow federal
law enforcement to target medical marijuana operations in states where
they are legal. (July 21, 2017)

U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is pressing Congress to allow federal
law enforcement to target medical marijuana operations in states where
they are legal. (July 21, 2017)

The Trump administration's attack on legal marijuana, already stymied
by large states determined not to roll back the clock, is increasingly
confronting an even more politically potent adversary: military veterans.

Frustrated by federal laws restricting their access to a drug many
already rely on to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic
pain and opioid addiction, veterans have become an influential
lobbying force in the marijuana debate after sitting on the sidelines
for years.

The 2-million-member American Legion this spring got involved in a big
way by launching a campaign to reduce marijuana restrictions, which it
says hurt veterans and may aggravate a suicide epidemic.

The move reflects the changing politics of marijuana, and of a
conservative, century-old veterans service organization facing new
challenges as its membership grows with those who served in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

"We were hearing these compelling stories from veterans about how
cannabis has made their lives better," said Joseph Plenzler, a
spokesman for the American Legion. "That they were able to use it to
get off a whole cocktail of drugs prescribed by VA doctors, that it is
helping with night terrors, or giving them relief from chronic pain."

At the same time, some patients complained that Veterans Affairs
doctors refused to offer any advice for using medical marijuana yet
also made a record of who was using it, raising fears that such
information might be used to punish former service members or strip
their benefits.

The legion's call to reclassify marijuana federally from a drug that
has no medical benefit and is more dangerous than cocaine to one that
is in the same category as legal prescription painkillers has caught
the attention of lawmakers.

A measure the legion now supports, that would permit VA doctors to
give their patients the sign-off they need to access medical marijuana
in states where it is legal, was approved by a key Senate budget
committee earlier this month on a 24-7 vote, with nine Republicans
voting in favor. The measure is among the veterans-related marijuana
legislation getting new traction at an otherwise challenging time in
Washington for pot advocates.

"This is one marijuana issue a lot of Republicans are interested in,"
said Sarah Trumble, deputy director of social policy at Third Way, a
centrist think tank that advocates easing federal restrictions on
cannabis. "It's the baseball and apple pie of marijuana."

The legion's involvement has helped lure new lawmakers to the debate,
such as Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who coauthored a bill
that would recategorize marijuana as a drug with therapeutic value.
Longtime marijuana proponent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, an Orange County
Republican, constantly raises the issue of veterans on the House floor.

"It is a travesty," he said in one recent speech. "They are given
opiates instead of maybe something they can derive from marijuana. ...
And our veterans end up killing themselves because now they are
addicted to an opiate."

Such thinking is driven by a 2015 National Bureau of Economic Research
white paper that found opioid overdose deaths are 16% lower in states
where medical marijuana is legal.

It has all put VA leadership in an awkward spot. Soon after the legion
began its push in May, VA Secretary David Shulkin acknowledged
evidence is emerging that cannabis maybe helpful in treating veterans,
and it is something the agency intends to examine.

But Shulkin is bumping up against powerful forces in the Trump
administration tacking hard in the reverse direction on pot. Atty.
Gen. Jeff Sessions is pressing Congress not to renew a rider that
prohibits federal law enforcement from targeting medical marijuana
operations in states where they are legal. In a letter to
congressional leaders, he stressed that marijuana has no accepted
medical use under federal law.

The increased profile of veterans comes years into an effort by
researchers to conduct a federally-approved study of the potential
benefit of using pot to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Federal
regulators had long refused to approve such a study, in large part
because marijuana was determined by their agencies to have no medical
use. A study was finally cleared in April 2016, but even now
researchers find themselves confronting obstacles. They are permitted,
for example, to use only marijuana grown at a federal research
facility in Mississippi which lacks the concentration of active
ingredients available in the products sold in dispensaries.

Army veteran and triple-amputee, Jose Martinez, of Los Angeles, Ca.,
center, and other veterans and supporters of medical marijuana march
to the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the White House to bring
awareness to the need to legalize medical marijuana.

Army veteran and triple-amputee, Jose Martinez, of Los Angeles, Ca.,
center, and other veterans and supporters of medical marijuana march
to the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the White House to bring
awareness to the need to legalize medical marijuana. (The Washington
Post / Getty Images)

"It's been a seven-year battle," said Sue Sisley, principal
investigator for the study, which is being conducted by the
California-based Multidisciplinary Assn. for Psychedelic Studies.
"There is so much government red tape surrounding cannabis research."

Even in states where marijuana is easily available, veterans find
themselves self-treating complicated illnesses, often with little more
guidance than that offered up by the bud-tender at the point of sale.

"You have patients who are not fully informed of the risks and
benefits cannabis poses, and you have practitioners not informed about
what their patients are doing," said Steve D'Angelo, executive
director of Harborside Health Center in Oakland, one of the country's
largest dispensaries. "It is a recipe for medical mistakes."

When Dan Schmink returned from the Army ailing from chronic back pain,
broken ribs and psychological issues, the Arizonan said he discovered
marijuana could bring him some relief. Schmink tried to get guidance
from his VA doctors, but it just led to warnings about illegal drug
abuse. "For the most part I never talk about it because you don't know
who will flag," Schmink said.

He dove into Google Scholar to figure out what he could on his own. It
was rough going at times. He recalled "full-blown panic attacks" while
self-medicating.

Now he shares his findings with other veterans through a group he
founded called Southwest Healing Group. But what he'd really like to
see is veterans able to consult their VA doctors about their use.

In states where the laws are more restrictive, veterans face higher
barriers.

Therese Carrozzino left the Army in 2013 addicted to Percocet. The
26-year-old New Jersey resident said her military doctors left her
feeling she had little choice but to take the painkillers. "If I
didn't take my medications, they would've kicked me out and I wouldn't
have had any benefits," she said. "So I took the medication as
prescribed and ended up becoming addicted."

Carrozzino finally turned to medical marijuana a few years ago as she
transitioned off the prescription drugs. "I made it through with the
help of smoking joints and just trying to stay alive," she said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a new law in September to help
enable veterans to access medical marijuana, which is highly
restricted in the state. Carrozzino applied for her medical marijuana
card two months ago, at a cost of hundreds of dollars she did not have
to spare.

She said she has yet to receive the card.
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MAP posted-by: Matt