Today as I started my daily routine and caught up on the latest news an article caught my attention “Ohio is considering whether long suffering Browns or Bengals fans can be treated with medical marijuana”.  This immediately made me snicker as I thought “hey, what about us Cowboys fans and god-bless-em all of them Lions fans!”  LOL

The serious side of this though is that there is empirical evidence that suggests that medical marijuana has had a positive effect for a number of conditions and diseases. It is important to understand the difference however between CBD (cannabinoids) and Medical Marijuana. The later has various amount of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), or the psychoactive component in marijuana that gets you “high”, whereas the former is the chemical within the plant that has the “most” medicinal purpose as far as research shows. The reason I say the most is because for some conditions CBD just doesn’t cut it. The FDA has recognized that fact with the only drug on the market that is currently FDA approved – Epidiolex, which is a drug used to treat a severe form of Epilepsy. This drug has THC in it because it is the synergistic effect of THC and CBD that offers the relief for the patient. It’s sad but the FDA for various reasons has not taken part in clinical trials for any of the many ailments in which medical marijuana can potentially be a treatment option. It’s also pathetic.

I’m sure by now most of us have seen a special somewhere on TV where a veteran suffering from PTSD has found the one thing that has truly helped them is marijuana. Maybe it’s the THC, maybe it’s the CBD – I say “who cares”?  Even if it’s a placebo effect the human mind is an extremely enigmatic part of a human being. Scientists and medical experts the world over have studied the human brain and although they have gained a great understanding as compared to the mere mortals that the rest of us are, what they have learned and what they understand barely scratches the surface of what lies beneath. A true scientist understands that the more they learn the more they realize how much they don’t know. Unfortunately that’s probably not the thesis for any medical papers or justifications for the FDA to bring any potential natural remedy to the market as a recognized treatment option. Another pathetic part of the journey from natural treatment option to FDA approved drug is that the FDA doesn’t consider the research done by other countries. Currently the United States is one of the only civilized countries that doesn’t allow the use of medical marijuana for treatment of various conditions, including PTSD, depression, etc.

This isn’t entirely the FDA’s fault however, as marijuana has been a listed as a Class 1 drug for 50 years which means it has a high (no pun intended) abuse potential and no medical use.  Uh what? No medical use!  We currently have an FDA approved medical marijuana product for the treatment of a medical condition! The research however of marijuana as a potential treatment option for other conditions has been stymied by the fact that marijuana is still listed as a Class 1 drug thus big pharma has a lot of hoops to jump through in order to do any kind of research since possessing marijuana is still a federal offense. Although I’m not a fan of what is often predatory tactics of big pharma on our nation’s most vulnerable, it is big pharma that usually flips the bill for medical research and the FDA that is the checks and balances of that research.

I believe the solution is that marijuana as a whole has to be immediately delisted. Until that happens, the Veterans Administration is painted into a corner. Since they are a federal agency they cannot condone, prescribe or refer a patient for medical marijuana treatment. I get it. This is a big problem in my opinion as the suicide rates, homelessness and numerous other societal conditions continue to be exacerbated by the increasing number of PTSD, TBI (traumatic brain injury) and other veterans with silent conditions walking around with no viable treatment option other than the normal VA cocktail. The VA’s “combat cocktail” as it is unofficially called is a combo of prescribed drugs for conditions like PTS, anxiety and pain. Some veterans are prescribed over a dozen different medications that they must take daily. Don’t get me into how the synergistic effect of so many drugs cannot be clearly understood by anybody given the various metabolisms, PH levels and other human factors despite the sheer arrogance of the Pharmacological and American Medical Association assertions that they know best. They obviously don’t.

Today most, if not all veterans service organizations support the use of medical marijuana. The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) has had several articles about this topic as have the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). They have done their part to try to lobby veterans to be proactive with their congressional representatives in order to get marijuana delisted. Today I write this blog in hopes that all of you, who may be on the fence pertaining to this issue, do your research and support the delisting of marijuana. Only then will more viable research be done for the treatment efficacy of the utilization of marijuana as an FDA approved treatment option. Once it’s approved by the FDA and subsequently prescribed by a physician, it is allowed to be paid for with insurance. Until then, veterans and others flip the bill themselves to get what treatment they can in any manner they can. This means that they buy unregulated and often substandard or inconsistent product that is often cut or lacks in purity. It also means that many veterans simply have to break the law in order to keep from the compulsive urges they feel to harm themselves or others as a result of their PTSD, TBI, or other conditions.

America needs to wake up and get with the times until they can find a solution that is better than what is right in front of them. I am fortunate in that I do not have a condition that warrants the use of such treatments and I’m not a recreational consumer, however I would like to see the Veterans Administration have the authority to help so many of my brothers and sisters. That will only happen if we delist. Delisting will only happen with enough pressure from the public so I implore you all to voice this concern to your local representatives. Even if you live in a State that has “legalized” marijuana, it is still listed as a Class 1 which means it’s still technically illegal which limits the research that can and will be done as well as its potential uses. In addition, I’ve learned that the companies involved with the growing and distribution of medical marijuana in the “legal” states are not necessarily supportive of delisting and further FDA research. This is because they currently have a great cash only market. Their argument to me was that it will become extremely expensive if they start doing FDA trials and approving it as a medical treatment option and less accessible. They miss the point that approved medicines are usually paid for by insurance, CMS or the VA whereas unapproved treatment options are not. Thus this limits access to treatment by virtue of cost. They are simply being greedy kinda like big pharma often is.

                                                                                                Mick Dubuis, MBA, FACHE

                                                                                                President, Partners In Energy LLC