The Department of Veterans Affairs will not conduct research into the effects of medical cannabis on post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain — some of the very ailments veteran patients rely on the drug to treat.
There’s some good news for veterans in states with legal medical marijuana programs who rely on the sticky green herb and its various distillations for treatment: the Department of Veterans Affairs has officially cleared its physicians and care teams to speak openly with veteran patients about their marijuana consumption.
There is a difference, the late physicist and pop philosopher Richard Feynman used to say, "between knowing the name of something and knowing something." The military puts a lot of emphasis on the names of things, especially its operations and exercises — from Salty Hammer to Viking Snatch. Who else puts so much thought into a name, only to come up with such silly monikers? Your friendly cannabinoid salesmen. And if you plan on going far in either career field, you'd better know the differences.
In his first “state of the VA” address at the White House on May 31, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin highlighted his department’s focus on wait times, accountability, quality of care, and veteran suicides. But it may have been one brief answer to a question after his speech that really signaled Shulkin’s openness to radical reforms for veteran health care.
