Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin made it loud and clear on how he stands when it comes to medical marijuana and war veterans. During a White House press briefing, Shulkin said in regards to the use of the drug with veterans who have PTSD in states that allow medicinal marijuana, “There may be some evidence that this is beginning to be helpful and we’re interested in looking at that and learning from that.”
“If there is compelling evidence that this is helpful I hope that people take a look at that and come up with the right decision,” he continued.
The VA is barred by federal law from giving veterans prescriptions for marijuana in order to help them over come PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
On the other side, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is opposed to all marijuana use and he actually believes the applications that medical marijuana can be utilized in are “hyped, maybe too much.”
Some military veterans use marijuana to relieve symptoms of PTSD. 7-8% of the nation’s population will have PTSD at some point in their lifetime, estimate researchers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
