Indiana American Legion reached an agreement on Sunday that would support a medical cannabis study to treat injuries to military service members, such as traumatic brain injuries and PTSD. The veteran service organization said they are working to urge Indiana legislators to approve the private growth and research of medicinal cannabis and to reclassify marijuana as a drug with potential medical value.
Department of Indiana Commander James B. May stated, “Our members have made the decision through the voting process to urge our state legislature to look into the benefits of medical marijuana in treating veteran related conditions like PTSD and TBI. PTSD and TBI are the signature wounds of Post 9/11 veterans. We support the medical research of marijuana to find if there are any alternatives to treating these conditions.”
Indiana’s American Legion currently has over 81,500 members. One of those members, Jeff Staker, has created a website called Hoosier Veterans for Medical Cannabis. The HVMC’s Mission is listed as: “To inform, educate, lobby, support and maintain legislation for the legal Medical use of Cannabis within the state of Indiana. In addition, when we have fought and won for the legalization of Medical Cannabis, HVMC will work with our legislators to continuously review, revise, and update legislation as may be necessary from time to time.”
Last summer, the national American Legion asked congress to remove cannabis from a list of drugs with no medicinal value. May said, “We in no way condone the illegal use of marijuana or any other drug. We are focused on bettering the lives of our fellow veterans, and we believe they are worth conducting the research.”
The American Legion’s decision to support this research isn’t without good cause. They said many veterans have been prescribed opioid-based painkillers as part of their therapy plans which has resulted in addiction and drug abuse in surprisingly large numbers. May stated, “If it helps one veteran, if it prevents one veteran from dying from prescription overdose, or from becoming addicted to opioid based prescription drugs, then the research is worth it.”
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