Bob Becker, the legislative director of the state Council of Veterans Organizations, was at the Capital this week lobbying lawmakers. He says, “I think it is time that we start taking care of the people that have PTSD.”
“If you talk to the veterans that are using (medical marijuana) … they feel like the pain is gone,” said Becker.
“I have some of my friends that deal with (PTSD),” said Becker who is a retired marine.
“I talk to veterans all over. They tell me that they’re smoking a little marijuana … they’re smoking and said, ‘I feel better.'”
The Council of Veterans Organizations is backing a proposal in the state Legislature that will put PTSD onto the list of qualifying conditions for patients in New York’s regulated medical marijuana program. The bill has already passed the Assembly and is waiting for approval by the Senate.
If passed, PTSD would be added to the list of conditions that include cancer and chronic pain.
The PTSD legislation is sponsored by Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat who was behind the Compassionate Care Act.
