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šŗšø Veterans and plants
The VA turns a blind eye to the treasure trove of anecdotal evidence about cannabis
Military veterans have to answer a unique question when they return to civilian life: how can I dial down my intensity - which was required of me, every second, in my former life - to create a healthy relationship with my surroundings?
The transition is jarring.
I talked to Socrates Rosenfeld, Janeās CEO, about this transition a couple of years back:
BG: What brought you here, to this moment? [Jane had raised a $21M Series B in the summer of 2019, and we talked in early 2020]
Soc: A personal need, the needs of my military brethren ā and eventually, the needs of everyone else.
I couldnāt find a way to find my balance again internally after I left the military. I could not not be intense with everything that I did, which served me well when making life and death decisions in the cockpit of an Apache, but maybe not when I was trying to be a husband, or a friend, or a student.
Honestly, I was apprehensive and kind of afraid of trying cannabis because of all the misconceptions around it. I thought it might make me unhealthy, or dumb, or lazy. I wasnāt interested in trying cannabis until people I loved and trusted and respected came to me and said āhey, you might want to try this before you remove it as an option.ā
I tried it, and it provided me the balance I was looking for that I really couldnāt find anywhere else. For the first time in a very long time, I was present again, to not only connect with my loved ones, but to connect to myself without any of the noise that I had accumulated during my service. All of that noise slowly, slowly ā on my terms ā started to melt away, and I was able to uncover my true self again.
I started sharing this with other military veterans, and quickly realized that they too were trying cannabis, and experiencing significant positive effects. They were integrating this into their daily lives, and their biggest issue was the fact that they couldnāt access it, number one. And number two, they still felt a level of shame, or embarrassment, to say āhey, Iām using cannabis and itās helping me.ā
š The military medical machine, man
That shame is exacerbated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Despite millions of veterans using cannabis to alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, the VA refuses to recommend cannabis in any of the 36 states where it is legal. The VA defers to the Justice Department, who - through a toxic line of reasoning born of racism and baseless claims - still classifies cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug.
Most of the legislative initiatives aimed at increasing access to cannabis for veterans focuses on increasing scientific research into the efficacy of the plant to alleviate these symptoms. Cool, great. Study the thing. But in the meantime, why canāt we take the word of millions of people and their personal experience?
Hereās the crux of the conversation, btw: when does āanecdotalā evidence become robust enough to take action? Do we really have to study cannabis in a lab with double blind experiments to determine that it helps people with little to no side effects, when we have literally millions of examples that it does? When does āanecdotalā have enough data points to become acceptable?
š The facts, according to data
Roughly 15% of veterans experience PTSD in a given year
Veterans are 50% more likely to commit suicide than non-veterans. In 2018, there were 18 veteran suicides per day
Nearly 30% of active duty and reserve military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have a mental condition requiring treatment
Veterans are twice as likely to die from opioid overdoses than the general population
In a large study where veterans suffering from chronic pain were provided cannabis, opioid use decreased 38%
In 2014, 9% of Veterans in the U.S. reported using cannabis in the past year. In 2019-2020, the prevalence of past-6-month cannabis use among Veterans was 11.9%, and was over 20% among Veterans aged 18-44
The first several numbers are staggering, and sad. The last two bullet points, though, are promising.
If millions of service members are saying cannabis is a better solution for the debilitating illnesses they are faced with - why arenāt we listening?
š Well, what can we do?
First, you can make noise, be annoying. Talk loudly about it, in person and publicly. Normalizing these conversations has an impact. And if someone you know is struggling, be there to offer support and resources.
You should also support Santa Cruz Veteranās Alliance and other veteran-owned cannabis businesses.
š tl: dr
The VA ignores anecdotal evidence about the efficacy of cannabis in treating common ailments among veterans
Veterans are more likely to suffer serious mental health issues than non-veterans
Cannabis use has proven - via millions of anecdotal data points - to alleviate symptoms related to anxiety, depression, and PTSD in veterans
It is Veterans Day (and also Thursday)