Dr. Robert Petzel, VA’s Under Secretary for Health, issued the following letter on July 6, 2010 which clarifies the current VA policy concerning use of medical marijuana: If a Veteran obtains and uses medical marijuana in a manner consistent with state law, testing positive for marijuana would not preclude the Veteran from receiving opioids for [...]
July 16, 2010
Soldiers killed themselves at the rate of one per day in June making it the worst month on record for Army suicides, the service said Thursday. There were 32 confirmed or suspected suicides among soldiers in June, including 21 among active-duty troops and 11 among National Guard or Reserve forces, according to Army statistics. Seven [...]
July 14, 2010
FORT BLISS, Tex. — The soldiers of the Fourth Brigade, First Armored Division, have been home from Iraq for three months now, the danger of snipers and roadside bombs no longer a threat, the war for them over. But the odds that some of them will die violent deaths continues, so just as he did [...]
July 11, 2010
In a letter to the editor of The Saginaw News, VA Medical Director Gabriel Perez clarifies the current VA policy on the use of medical marijuana by veteran patients: Editor, The News: As a clarification to the article on medical marijuana in the VA, it is important for veteran patients and visitors of the VA medical [...]
July 11, 2010
An important subject that should not go overlooked today: The government is preparing to issue new rules that will make it substantially easier for veterans who have been found to have post-traumatic stress disorder to receive disability benefits, a change that could affect hundreds of thousands of veterans from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. [...]
July 10, 2010
As of June 1, 2010, Ron Zaleski is walking barefoot across America to raise awareness of veteran suicide. You can follow his journey by going to www.thelongwalkhome.org. The Long Walk Home is a non-profit organization formed by Ron Zaleski in 2006 to call attention to the need for mandatory PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) counseling for all military [...]
July 9, 2010
People often wonder why local law enforcement agencies will spend so many resources cracking down on marijuana. As this weekend’s superbly reported front-page piece in the Wall Street Journal explains, it really all comes down to money. IGO, Calif.—Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko, his budget under pressure in a weak economy, has laid off staff, reduced patrols [...]
July 9, 2010
Colorado medical marijuana advocates and a group of local veteransfiled a petition with the state health department yesterday that would add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Colorado. The petition was formally filed by Army veteran and double amputee Kevin Grimsinger, who lost parts of both legs and suffered [...]
July 7, 2010
US News & World Report recently probed the subject of cannabis science, publishing a pair of stories on the subject here and here. Neither story particularly breaks any new ground, though the first provides some valuable — if inadvertent — insight into the prohibitionist (or at the very least, statist) mindset. Quoted in the story is Columbia [...]
July 6, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Medical Association is working to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder to ensure that returning soldiers receive the help they need. The group recently distributed information about the disorder to 1,300 primary-care physicians across the state, who experts say are often the first line of defense for troubled veterans. “The family doctor [...]
July 17, 2010
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