VA Does the Unthinkable, Relaxing Official Federal Position on Medical Marijuana

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Veterans Administration (VA) is relaxing the rules for veterans who use medical marijuana in states where it is legal. Experts and activists are calling the decision an historic event; it will certainly change the position of many vets currently receiving care, who until now have been restricted under VA rules, to dangerous morphine based drugs for treatment; pills that are both highly addictive, and deadly.

The news means veterans will no longer face losing benefits and access to their other prescription pain medication through the VA, if they are caught smoking cannabis.

The VA doctors aren't going to start prescribing medical pot, but if veterans seek that type of medical treatment through another source, they will now be able to discuss it openly with the VA without fear of retribution.

"A department directive, expected to take effect next week, resolves the conflict in veterans facilities between federal law, which outlaws marijuana, and the 14 states that allow medicinal use of the drug, effectively deferring to the states." ^[1]

One person who has had a major hand in the development of the new ruling, is Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access, (VMMA). Along with others like Martin Chilcutt, also of VMMA, Krawitz has worked closely with federal officials in reaching the new conclusion.

He tells Salem-News.com that the news is monumental, and it accomplishes what in the past, was unthinkable.

"The federal government's willingness to concede the matter to the states that enacted the laws in the first place, has been the goal for so many for so long."

Too much has happened for the VA to anything but finally relinquish their former position, that all medical marijuana is off the table because there is no federal recognition of it.

And while the federal officials, especially the DEA, have repeated consistently that there is no federal recognition of marijuana as anything but a narcotic, the words remain consistently untrue because several Americans have been in a pilot federal medical marijuana program for years and years. Their stash is grown at the University of Old Miss' and delivered in rolled cigarette form.

Likely the most well known physician associated with medical marijuana, our writer Dr. Phil Leveque, is a combat veteran who served in WWII, and later treated thousands of veterans during his years of practice, where he was the first to seriously work with veterans in the area of medical marijuana.

The news of the new changes in VA rulings is for Dr. Leveque, the accomplishment of many dreams:

"As you know, my work with this goes back a long way, and I'm reminded of the phone call so many years ago, after Oregon has just passed its medical marijuana law, from a VA nurse asking if they could send patients my way who want to use medical marijuana."

He says the call was brief and the nurse didn't use her name for fear of blowback within the VA. Still, it led to a stream of mostly Vietnam Veterans who for years, had known how effective marijuana was in easing their war-related injuries, but lived as criminals with so much to lose if arrested and prosecuted.

The Department of Justice didn't comment about the specific case to the NY Times, but Laura Sweeney, DOJ spokeswoman, did say, "What we have said in the past, and what we have said for a while, is that we are going to focus our federal resources on large scale drug traffickers."

Consistent with comments by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Sweeney said, "We are not going to focus on individual cancer patients or something of the like."

A common goal among the activists is to see a national policy put into place that ensures uniformity. It appears to be partly here, though the limited number of only 14 states with legal medical marijuana means that the new ruling will not impact most Veterans, not yet at least.

Mike Krawitz, says the United States now joins nations like Israel, Canada and the Netherlands, that allow veterans to use medical marijuana for both physical and psychological wounds.

He also says it should ease the very disturbing situation a young female Oregon soldier found herself in after traveling to Washington state to be discharged. The soldier, Specialist Richelle Golden, was a nine-year veteran of the Oregon Army National Guard with an honorable service record.

She was diagnosed in October, 2008 with Rheumatoid Arthritis, in an extremely serious form as Dr. Leveque noted in an article, Army Lynch Mob Meeting at Officer Club Bar: Oregonian Exposes Medical Torture. Golden was treated with nauseating chemotherapy at Oregon Health Science University (OHSU) and totally disabled from the disease AND the treatment.

Richelle Golden was ordered to Madigan Army Medical Center where she arrived in a wheelchair and was promptly treated as a criminal drug user for using medicine. The support from high ranking officers in the Oregon National Guard has brought her no favor. She has been charged and denied medical marijuana. It was the only thing helping her control nausea at the time, and she became so sick afterward that she almost died.

This new decision is undoubtedly good news in her case, one where it seems likely that someone in the Army was out to teach a soldier a lesson, and show a side of humanity that many believe has no place in the service and in the treatment of those who volunteered to serve their country at a time of war.

The link to the NY Times article is below, it is in today's print version of the newspaper as well.

Tomorrrow is an initial hearing; she has the choice of requesting a court martial or admitting that she is an illegal drug user and getting a dishonorable discharge.

Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

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Welcome Home, Tom

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Conservative Christian July 27, 2010 9:36 am (Pacific time)

It's really good to see that the VA is allowing our injured heroes this option. There are MANY reports of injured vets and other Americans being able to reduce their use of narcotic pain killers and other dangerous drugs simply by using the natural remedy, marijuana. Thank you, VA, for a job well done! California citizens can register to vote at h t t p s : / / w w w .sos.ca.gov/nvrc/fedform/ Just fill out the form and mail it in! Other states: Google your state name and the phrase “voter registration” to find out how to register in your state!

Osotan; July 24, 2010 7:55 pm (Pacific time)

fire it up!!!.,4/20..

Joy July 24, 2010 3:13 pm (Pacific time)

A wonderful victory for our veterans - finally something to Help Them. Thanks for the story guys!

kev July 24, 2010 1:04 pm (Pacific time)

outstanding! I'm glad the VA can put medical proof in front of outdated ideologies. Kudos!

Hank Ruark July 24, 2010 9:27 am (Pacific time)

To all: S-N should be rightly proud to have taken and maintained the national lead in this continuing struggle to achieve the unchallengeable right to needed medication for every individual. Our Dr.Leveque has provided both mental power and muscled experience for this effort, assisted by unremitting strong efforts by Tim and Bon. Here again we see the potent force of free, open, honest and democratic dialog, at work in a universally-accessable channel unafraid to "tell it like it really is"....worth a huge pile of pesos these days for every poor victim of false and foolishly futile --and unConstitutional--restriction.

Douglas Benson July 24, 2010 7:30 am (Pacific time)

We are winning !

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