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Veterans Health Administration releases first ever system-wide medical marijuana directive. 22 July 2010



First there was this letter:



Correspondence with VA General Counsel Gunn:



Letter from VA General Counsel Gunn to Michael Krawitz:

http://drugsense.org/temp/Gunn-Response.pdf



Then there was this letter:



Letter to Michael Krawitz, VMMA Director from Dr. Petzel, VHA
Undersecretary For Health with definitive health answer to question
referred by General Counsel:


http://drugsense.org/temp/Undersecretary-Jul6.pdf



Then there was this article:


V.A. Easing Rules for Users of Medical Marijuana

By Dan Frosch [published in the New York Times front page above the fold]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/health/policy/24veterans.html?pagewanted=all



All leading up to this new VA policy!



http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=2276



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"The work we did on this issue was for all Vets of all time periods. My personal injuries led me to find medical cannabis to help control my chronic pain. My fellow Vets, thousands of them have found the same medicine to relieve their suffering and will appreciate this strong support and Dr. Petzel's attention." 

Michael Krawitz 
-- Executive Director of Veterans For Medical Marijuana Access


AMA Votes to Reschedule Medical Marijuana

Click here to see the full article



Petition to Reschedule Marijuana

Click here to see the petition





Incorporated in 2007, Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access (VMMA)
advocates for veterans' rights to access medical marijuana for
therapeutic purposes. VMMA also works to minimize the harm associated
with marijuana use, which many veterans believe to be conviction and
incarceration.

VMMA encourages all legislative bodies to endorse veterans' rights
to use medical marijuana therapeutically and responsibly, and is
working to end all prohibitions associated with such use.

VMMA is working to preserve the long established doctor-patient
relationship to privacy rights and to safely discuss medical marijuana
use within the V.A. healthcare system without fear of punishment or
retribution.

Here are the some VA statistics about Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans:

  • Veterans: 981,834 (out of nearly two million deployed)
  • Veterans Treated at VA Hospitals and Clinics: 425,538 (43.3% of veterans)
  • Veterans Diagnosed by VA with Mental Health Condition: 193,879 (45.6% of veterans treated by VA)
  • Veterans Diagnosed by VA with PTSD: 114,908 (27.0% of veterans treated by VA)
  • Veterans Filing Disability Claims Against VA: 381,782 (38.9% of veterans)
  • Veterans with Approved PTSD Claims: 53,079 (46.2% of the veterans diagnosed by VA with PTSD)

"We must remember that the best health care decisions are not made by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors."

- President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 23, 2007.