Vermont Lawmakers Look to Treat PTSD with Medical Marijuana

VT would join New Mexico and Delaware as the only states to allow medical marijuana to be recommended for PTSD

MONTPELIER, VT — Vermont is one 16 states that allow seriously ill patients to use marijuana to treat certain illnesses, and now it may become the third to make post-traumatic stress disorder one of those qualifying illnesses.

As Vermont officials and advocates continue to shape their medical marijuana program into a regulated, model program, recently releasing guidelines to allow dispensaries, a new bill introduced by Rep. Jim Masland (D-Thetford) would allow patients afflicted with the serious psychological condition from war or other trauma to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest.

Under Vermont’s current medical marijuana law, only patients suffering from the most severe ailments, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS, are eligible for the medical marijuana program.

If the law passes, Vermont will join New Mexico and Delaware as the only states to allow medical marijuana to be recommended for PTSD out of the 16 states,and the District of Columbia, that permit marijuana treatment for other conditions.

Rep. Masland introduced the bill at the request of a number of his constituents who were using marijuana to alleviate stress symptoms they felt were caused by their military service.

“I understand that these unnamed individuals, at least a couple, haven’t been able to find relief any other way or at least this is the best way for relief,” Masland, said Thursday. “So I would say they are quietly, surreptitiously using marijuana, but they would much rather do it legally.”

Masland said the veterans who asked him to introduce the legislation had served in the Vietnam War as well as the wars the United States has fought over the last decade.

According to Michael Krawitz, executive director of the Veterans for Medical Marijuana Use, the use of medical marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD is increasingly being accepted across the country.

“The bottom line is we just don’t have a lot of treatments for post-traumatic stress that are that effective,” Krawitz said.

Last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs allows Vets to use medical marijuana in states where its use is legal. Patients are not, however, allowed to use it in VA facilities.