Many vets say that marijuana relieves their PTSD symptoms, although hard evidence is lacking. That may be about to change, but obstacles remain.
CASCADE, Colorado -- Matt Stys funnels a mound of finely ground God's Gift, a sativa strain of marijuana, into his multicolored glass bowl and takes a hit. "It allows the images and all the things in your head to lose focus and drift away for a while," says Stys as wisps of smoke curl from his mouth. For Stys, the images of being a noncommissioned officer running an entry control point in Iraq in 2007 and 2008 can fade away with the smoke: recollections of struggling to differentiate potential combatants from Iraqi citizens, of watching the wounded and dead flowing through his security checkpoint. Other demons in his head can waft away too, like the memories of spending his teenage years in foster care, and the moral ache of questioning the war in which he fought
"I had this misconception that we were over here to help Iraq," he says. "But we were just there to destroy a nation."
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5 comments:
No, not in everybody, and it surely wouldn't work for me. Although I never served in the military and have not been exposed to anything that would cause PTSD in me, I have experienced plenty in my life, and know how it affects me with lots of introverted paranoia of what others are thinking, about me, about my friends, how I appear to them, etc. Having had contact with those with PTSD, I would be afraid pot could set a few of these souls off to where we wouldn't want them to go.
IMHO.
Not in my experience. Made it much worse.
I have been out since 09 and it works great for me. For one getting help is not as easy as most would think. I avoid taking medications at all cost as many make you become life long addicts and they really have no clue how to fix it. No thanks I will stick with what works and dosent do more harm to me. 1005 pot is not gona set someone off with PTSD throw away your copy of reffer madness its all the crazy pills they want to give us.
Wether it does or not give it to them anyway.
I HAD a long time veteran friend that started using POT last spring and seemed fine for a while then started going off the rails accusing people of all kinds of paranoid things. His whole personality changed and he is no longer the person I once knew...hence the HAD A FRIEND. He is one sad person now. I would be afraid to be around him now. So sad.
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