Tayln Lang, Marine Corps veteran and cannabis activist at the Veterans Park in Hamilton (MTN News photo)
Reporter Keele Smith went On Special Assignment and talked with one veteran who uses it for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and why he wants others to be able to do the same.
"I saw two people shot to death right in front of me, in front of a store full of people," Marine Corps Veteran and cannabis activist Tayln Lang said.
Lang has a medical marijuana card for another condition but finds that using cannabis also relieves his symptoms of PTSD.
"This is vaporizer pen that I use in the evenings so that I don't have to burn the plant material," Lang said.
"When I smoke before I go to sleep, when I wake up in the morning, I don't remember my nightmares,."
With a green card in Montana, patients can walk into a dispensary and leave with up to an ounce of medical cannabis from their provider.
Qualifying conditions include cancer, Glaucoma, AIDS and chronic pain. Lang wants to add PTSD to the list, to give veterans a safer alternative to treat their symptoms.
"The Veterans Administration will prescribe a lot of different drugs - antidepressants, sometimes opiates. this combination of a toxic cocktail of drugs that are given to veterans have been shown to increase suicide," Lang said.
A recent study shows that an average of 22 veterans a day commit suicide in the United States. In Montana, roughly one in 10 people are veterans, one of the highest per-capita rates in the country.
Lang says medical marijuana could help many deal with the unseen scars after returning home.
"There is more than anecdotal evidence. There are many many research studies and tons of information which scientifically proves that PTSD can be effectively managed with the medical use of marijuana," Lang said.
State lawmakers proposed three bills this session to add PTSD as a qualifying medical condition, but those efforts stalled.
Representative Kirk Wagoner, a Navy veteran, voted against two of the bills, saying that marijuana is just another addictive drug that treats the side effects, not the root cause of PTSD.
"The well known and documented treatment is counseling or psychotherapy, and that has the best benefits. Medical marijuana is a lifestyle and that's not a good lifestyle," Rep. Wagoner said.
There are 23 states, and Washington D.C., that now have medical marijuana laws on the books, several of those include PTSD as an approved condition.
Lang says this is something Montana should embrace and a change he will keep working for.
"I'll continue this fight until medical marijuana for PTSD is recognized or we have full recreational," Lang said.
If the Attorney General's appeal is approved, it would mean major changes for medical marijuana providers. They would essentially have to give their product away for free and would not be able to advertise.
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