Despite plenty of testimony to the contrary, medical and government organizations are slow to jump on board or give support for such a controversial method of treatment. Medical marijuana has been known to effectively treat PTSD symptoms and could significantly reduce the cocktail of medications (and their side-effects), that some veterans find themselves on while being treated for those conditions.
Recently in Denver CO - a state that legalized recreational marijuana - had an open public hearing in regards to a proposed change in medical marijuana laws to allow for treatment of PTSD. Hours of testimony was heard about the benefits of medical marijuana treatments but to no avail. Even the state's chief medical officer was in favor of such a measure, but to the chagrin of the large audience the board struck it down 6-2 according to the Denver Post.
Washington State recently added PTSD to the list of conditions that could be treated with medical marijuana, making it the 11th state to do so, as reported by the Tacoma News Tribune.
This is a promising development, but without the backing of the federal government, this change in state policy is essentially an exercise in futility for our veterans who rely on the VA for their primary care.
For now, they can pay for this alternative treatment out of pocket at a medical clinic outside of the VA which is better than nothing.
There's still a lot of concerns about its use by the general public, but in my opinion if it works for that person, why not let them use it and support them. After all, we are supposed to be treating not just the condition, but ther person as well. If the end result is the same or better for that individual, it's high time we begin to support this.