Air Force Loosens Marijuana Restrictions
At least one branch of the U.S. military is about to become a lot more cannabis-friendly.
In a policy memo issued Monday, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James wrote that going forward, prior marijuana use is “not disqualifying” for new recruits.
Previously, recruits entering the Air Force faced inconsistent questions and restrictions regarding prior marijuana consumption, depending on where they were enlisting.
“We didn’t ask the same questions. Some recruiters used if you smoked marijuana less than five times, sometimes it was less than 15 times,” Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, told Military.com. “What we decided to do is stop asking [about]prior marijuana use at the recruiter level, [because]first of all, who really counts how many times they’ve used marijuana? So that just comes off the table.”
In a press release announcing the new policy, the Air Force said that its former approach to recruits’ marijuana use was “not reflective of the continuing legalization of marijuana in numerous states throughout the nation.”
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Congress Pressures VA to Allow Medical Marijuana
Discussion and Recommendation
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A bipartisan group of congressional representatives has released a letter encouraging the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow its doctors to discuss cannabis (and, when necessary, recommend it) with their veteran patients. The letter, signed by 21 senators and House members aims to “to improve the relationship between Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors and their patients, with respect to medicinal use of…marijuana.”
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One Patients Perspective
All You need to know is I am a patient. I do not need a name or a face because I am thousands.
I have been a patient since 2008. I only decided to do this after the V.A. Destroyed my body. The last straw was when I came out of a surgery with my right leg paralyzed. From the hip down unable to use it. They said it would regenerate in a year and sent me on my way.
I have heard of many successes in the V.A. but I was not one of them. Every surgery I had done only left me worse. On the outside I look and appear very normal. I wake up a little tight and have to stretch but other than that… today I am functional, thanks to cannabis. The medicine I consume monthly that I grow on my own without pesticides and without enhancing chemicals would cost me over 2000 a month. I don’t even have that much left after rent, utilities, food, gas, etc. HOW am I suppose to buy that much medicine?
I have removed myself with the help of a doctor, from ALL pharmaceuticals. I was on 28 and the more they gave me the worse I became. Now I have one medicine with so many compounds… and natural goodness. I use the WHOLE Plant. I do not want to have anything taken out. If I need higher CBDs I go with a plant that has it and I use the whole thing at my discretion. Only I know how it makes me feel and how it works for me. By night time, I am in bed or in a wheelchair because walking is almost impossible by 8 pm. It would happen with Pharmaceuticals as well only with pharmaceuticals I get more symptoms and side effects making me accumulate even MORE conditions. With Cannabis, I have managed to find the right combinations to allow me to be a functioning member of society. With Cannabis I can go to events, I can spend money in town I can buy a car so that I may leave my home, pay my rent and visit family. Without it, many would rather not live!
Many patients like myself wake up fine, but as the hours go by the worse we become, most becoming prisoners of our homes. We wont break the law, we need to medicate and we have no where that will allow us to do so other than hide like rats in a corner and not let anyone see what works for us and how its used. May like myself have invisible diseases, you cannot see what is wrong with us and you assume we are faking it. What you don’t see is the curved spines, or the artificial limbs or braces. The plates fusing our joints together because they are deteriorating. You can’t see Stenosis, Scoliosis, Epilepsy or Cancer.
The people making the decisions for us are not speaking truth. They have been told what to say and how to say it. They have chosen in the state of Washington to allow recreational while destroying medical. They went too far. They say they allow it, the Governors signing of 5052 and 2136 and 1276 have made sure that no matter how much we want to comply they don’t leave us with any reasonable choice in obtaining our medicine. They cut you down to 4 plants if you don’t want to register. Sounds great doesn’t it.. but not if you grown in Eastern WA, have 4 plants and 6 oz. Guess what, you cant harvest all your plants unless you keep them tiny or you will be over. They say we can have more if we register in THE DATABASE AT A RECREATIONAL STORE. That’s just as bad as giving medical cannabis control to the LIQUOR control board who by the way has done a LOUSY job at being forthright and honest about their dealings. Read about them on 420Leaks.com.
Patients in the state of Washington have been shoved not just thrown under the bus. It isn’t like Representative Hurst said, “Just give up a coffee and buy it at a store” For many who are on a fixed income, it would be to pay rent or buy medicine. You left people with no choice Washington. For us it isn’t about a “Coffee” its about saving our lives.
Speaking to the general public about what has happened has become a great past time for me in that I love educating people. And the people at large for the most part have no clue what happened or how bad it left them. I had people asking me if it was true they could only grow 15 plants this year per household. YES that is true.. but many were not told until AFTER the planting season was already in gear. All these rules and laws were put in place NOT to help medical but to destroy it. Patients WILL NOT stand for this. Washington will be seeing many lawsuits, court cases, jury trials etc. Many of us have had our health deteriorate because we have had to fight this on our own with no support from legislators that we hired to represent us. Not all were bad to medical but the majority say their vote WAS PROMISED and no matter what they believed, they had to vote how they voted.
What’s in Store for next session? Testimonies from dead patients families, family members whose loved ones have been incarcerated for trying to relieve their pain and save their lives, testimonies from people who can no longer walk due to the reduced medicine quantities. Not to mention the ones who cannot take the medicines in the stores due do substandard meds and pesticides. Patients who have been growing their own medicine for years are now being shoved into 502 stores to purchase recreational pot that has never been in their medicine cabinets before. They are being forced to stop care that is working for them now to comply to a system who just plain and simple…doe not have their best interest at heart.
Washington said we needed to be regulated, that we need to buy from the 502 stores, We are being funneled that way. But what they don’t tell you is the very thing they took away from us they will be selling to Recreational users, many of who are all gaga over their new found freedom they are making stupid choices, You gave our medicine to a many whose only purpose is to make money and have fun and control it all… Way to go Washington!
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Congressional Medical Marijuana Bill Focuses on Access for Veterans
WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. House Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and eight bipartisan Congressional cosponsors introduced the “Veterans Equal Access Act” today, marking a concerted federal effort to allow our country’s veterans to become medical marijuana patients in states where it’s legal.
The bill, which is modeled after similar legislation introduced in November, would simply allow Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians to discuss and recommend medical marijuana to their patients, a right enjoyed by physicians outside of the VA system. Read More…
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Veterans Equal Access Act
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives Tuesday would allow physicians employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend marijuana as a medical treatment to veterans suffering from serious injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other chronic conditions. Read More…
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Make the Connection:
“Locate Information and Resources
No matter what you may be experiencing, there is support for getting your life on a better track. Many, many Veterans have found the strength to reach out and make the connection. To find the Veteran resources most helpful for you, fill in your zip code or state below and then check the boxes to indicate the programs or topics you are interested in learning more about.”
Read More…
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“Clare Center for Peace
It’s a common sense concept to start a model program for Veterans, providing an opportunity for affordable legal medical cannabis therapy, along with education, scientific study tracking, and support by medical professionals in a naturopathic way. It’s a common sense concept to develop a model program for pediatric patients afflicted with cancer and/or epileptic and other conditions, looking for affordable answers that traditional medicine has, to date, been unable to provide.” Read More…
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w bill would allow the VA to recommend medical marijuana for patients.
“Arguing that medical marijuana may help wounded warriors with anxiety and stress disorders to “survive and thrive,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) have introduced legislation that would allow Department of Veterans Affairs’ doctors to recommend the drug for some patients.”
Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access
“Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access is committed to protecting the rights of veteran patients and health care professionals by advocating for safe and legal access to cannabis (marijuana) for all appropriate therapeutic uses and to encourage research on cannabis as a treatment alternative.” Read More…
“January 31, 2011 – ACCESS TO CLINICAL PROGRAMS FOR VETERANS PARTICIPATING IN STATE-APPROVED MARIJUANA PROGRAMS
“Hospital staff said starting December 1st, the emergency room will only be open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week. Staff said if someone arrives at the emergency room after hours, they will have to send them to another hospital. …”
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