Veterans push state Senate on medical marijuana treatment for PTSD sufferers

BY Glenn Blain

ALBANY — Veterans groups are pushing the state Senate to pass legislation allowing medical marijuana to be used in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I think it is time that we start taking care of the people that have PTSD,” said Bob Becker, legislative chairman of the State Council of Veterans Organizations who was at the Capitol Wednesday lobbying lawmakers.

“If you talk to the veterans that are using (medical marijuana) ... they feel like the pain is gone,” said Becker, a retired Marine.

The Democrat-controlled Assembly has already approved a measure adding PTSD to the list of state-approved ailments that medical marijuana can be prescribed to treat. But the bill has stalled in the GOP-controlled Senate, where some senators have questioned medical marijuana’s effectiveness in treating the condition.

Sen. Thomas Croci, (R-Suffolk County), chair of the Senate’s veterans committee, said he’s still weighing whether to support the bill and has concerns it will create additional problems for veterans who are already struggling with addiction issues.

“We don’t want to create substitute addictions,” Croci said.

Despite Croci’s concerns, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island), said she’s confident the bill will pass the Senate before lawmakers end their annual session later this month.
 

 “It’s an education process,” Savino said of convincing reluctant senators.

 

Becker’s push to pass the legislation comes just days after U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said medical marijuana could help veterans and suggested the VA will look into studying what effects medical marijuana is having on veterans in states where it's legal.

Shulkin’s comments were at odds with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is vehement opponent of marijuana use.

Currently, medical marijuana can be used in New York to treat only a handful of serious illnesses and conditions, including cancer, HIV and AIDS, Lou Gehrig's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, epilepsy, some spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis. In December, the state added chronic pain to the list of conditions.