Dr. Phil Leveque Professor of Pharmacology Salem-News.com-May-14-2014
Marijuana should be the drug of choice. MEDICAL MARIJUANA COULD HAVE SAVED THESE VETERANS YEARS OF PAIN AND TURMOIL.
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"Private Lives" by Matt Rota
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(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The recent reports of “drug wait lists” for Veterans seeking VA medical care is egregious beyond understanding for Veterans who were willing to sacrifice their bodies, minds and lives for the 99% of American people who, for some reason, do not seem to understand or care for the plight of the 1% which is the number of Veterans who wore the uniform and faced the cruel enemy which is BATTLE.
The New York Times printed several articles delineating the cruel consequences of battle and the worst features of inadequate or dangerous medical care of Veterans of current and previous wars.
One article in the Times printed “A soldier Fights off the Cold” (May 11 2014), which is about a Veteran of three tours in Iraq.
On Aug 4 2004, he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. It sliced open his belly, filled his legs and face with shrapnel. It tore his intestines, lacerated his liver, destroyed his spleen, punctured his diaphragm, flattened his lungs, shattered his ribs and ruptured discs in his spine. He watched his belly tear open and his intestines fell out. It took one year in the hospital and one more year of physical therapy after which he volunteered for a second tour in Iraq.
In addition to this menu of physical injury, he also had PTSD which should surprise no one. There are probably another 1 million combat Veterans with PTSD which will never subside. This hidden injury frequently jumps out on him. For immediate relief, he would drink up to 5 shots of whiskey. This doesn’t help much either. PTSD never goes away.
He did get to college and graduated. But one time, driving down the road he was hit by another attack. He was taken to a psychiatric hospital and this ended his military career.
His name is Damon T. Armeni, US Army Major.
He writes a statement in the Times, “I feel an obligation to tell my story because so many others are suffering as well. Americans must know that the scars from PTSD are real and more painful than those caused by bullets or shrapnel.”
His final statement is, “Helping a wounded Veteran may save a life. We are American soldiers and we never leave anyone behind.”
Another story in the Times called, “A Soldier’s War on Pain” May 11 2014, was about Sgt. Shane Savage, which in some ways may be worse than Major Armeni’s problems.
On Sept 3 2010, in Kandahar (Afghanistan), his truck was blown apart by a bomb. His head hit the ceiling so hard his helmet cracked. His left foot was pinned against the dashboard, crushing 24 bones.
He came home 8 days later with severe concussion, PTSD and chronic pain. His doctors gave him powerful narcotic pain killers, this was necessary but caused addiction, dependence, and despair.
One time he went to the bathroom and started swallowing narcotic pills by the handful. His wife stopped him and saved his life.
He was given Hydrocodone (Vicodin) Methadone, and Oxycodone. The use of these medications has soared in recent years despite 16,000 overdose deaths.
During this time, at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC, 80% of injured patients were given these opiates. It has since dropped to 10%.
Sgt Savage did survive his injuries and mistreatment and was deployed again to his 4th and 5th tours.
During this time, he was prescribed 12 different types of drugs. He was on pain meds, narcotics, anti-depressants, Concerta for ADHD (?), and anti-tremor meds from the above drugs.
A month after he returned home, he heard abot his replacement to Afghanistan. He was blown to bits by a roadside bomb. The Sgt went home and cried for two days. He tried to kill himself with narcotic pills.
He spent several weeks in a psychiatric hospital and was given alternate treatments which calmed him down.
For three years, Sgt Savage was treated for his smashed foot. All treatments failed. He was up to 300 mg of Morphine a day, which is about 10x the normal dose.
He started a non-drug program which entailed taking care of and riding a horse, in other words, keeping busy, which is the BEST therapy for PTSD.
He eventually had to have his destroyed foot amputated.
These are just two examples of the million or so Veterans with PTSD and serious physical problems. These Veterans are getting minimal medical help from the military and the VA.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA COULD HAVE SAVED THESE VETERANS YEARS OF PAIN AND TURMOIL.
There is still hope.
Photo courtesy 
