My dad is a veteran and now works as a counselor at the VA clinic. He oftentimes has a lot of stress from his chosen profession. He works with veterans who have served overseas and returned back to our country suffering the debilitating effects of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. A good number of the soldiers are being forced to deal with painful injuries & some have witnessed horrific events. Fortunately for many of our heroes, just last year our state approved the use of medical marijuana & my dad is pleased because medical cannabis has made a remarkable improvement in the outcomes of some of his patients. Oftentimes, when a person has been diagnosed with severe PTSD, that person struggles to deal with high anxiety that can be quite severe at times. The use of medical marijuana to lessen the frequency or level of their anxiety has resulted in positive medical outcomes in several cases. My dad says that he is not even wanting to consider what would happen to some of them if they, for some reason, were required to forego their medical marijuana prescriptions. Many lay people as well as medical personnel disagree with prescribing medical marijuana to treat things such as PTSD, but, several soldiers who otherwise would have been in psychiatric wards or even been homeless have been helped by medical marijuana. For several years marijuana was used to treat glaucoma and lessen chronic pain, most times this was done illegally but the people using it resorted to illegal use of medical marijuana because they got the relief they could not find elsewhere. Slowly, States have come to see studies that indicate benefits far outweigh the legality of this life increasing treatment. I am entirely thankful for renewed interest in medical marijuana as a legitimate medical treatment. It has actually made a sizable difference in my dad’s job & in the welfare of his patients. It is true that using medical cannabis is not for most people however it is good to know that at least in our area, those who need it are able to get it.