Veteran's Corner

Another Veterans Day, to commemorate those that have defended out right to be free. Let us not allow their sacrifices be in vain. Our government is taking our freedoms away one at a time. We the people have that constitutional duty to stand up and decide if the people we have voted for are having our best interest and needs in mind. On this Veterans Day, email your Representatives and voice your opinion of the job they are doing, and let them know, that We The People are not satisfied with the current outcome from Congress. We need our Veterans to know that they are important to us and our government is tasked to do so.
I am having this rant because another dear friend from my out of country time has done himself in. We need sanity not suicide. :us::canada::sunglasses:

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Sorry to hear that @OldStealth

I’m going to write a letter tomorrow!

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Tell everyone. I have about 300 retired vets as compadres that are Very pissed off. Our Network is spreading the word. Thank you @bob31. :sunglasses:

I am as well @OldStealth

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I’m so sorry for your loss. But it’s a loss to all of us as well. I have already let my senators and representatives know via Facebook.

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@OldStealth Sorry for your friend. Unfortunately it is happening all too much and no one in Congress seems to care about it at all. My congressmen and senators are very well advised on my feelings of treatment of our veterans. I get an e-mail from them all the time asking for my support and I ask them if they have passed any legislation to take better care of our vets. Maybe some time I will actually get through to them !

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Thanks Tex. We have the same support emails coming in. Same requests being sent back. Maybe things will change after the mid term elections. :sunglasses:

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We can only hope ! :us::us:

From the CBNC Website Reported by the Associated Press

CNBC

Veterans, grappling with PTSD, are helping to boost public support for medical marijuana
Twenty-eight states plus the District of Columbia now include PTSD in their medical marijuana programs, a tally that has more than doubled in the last two years.
The American Legion began pressing the federal government this summer to let Department of Veterans Affairs doctors recommend medical marijuana where it’s legal.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin recently spoke tentatively in favor of marijuana for PTSD.

It was a telling setting for a decision on whether post-traumatic stress disorder patients could use medical marijuana.

Against the backdrop of the nation’s largest Veterans Day parade, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this month he’d sign legislation making New York the latest in a fast-rising tide of states to OK therapeutic pot as a PTSD treatment, though it’s illegal under federal law and doesn’t boast extensive, conclusive medical research.

Twenty-eight states plus the District of Columbia now include PTSD in their medical marijuana programs, a tally that has more than doubled in the last two years, according to data compiled by the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project. A 29th state, Alaska, doesn’t incorporate PTSD in its medical marijuana program but allows everyone over 20 to buy pot legally.

The increase has come amid increasingly visible advocacy from veterans’ groups.

Retired Marine staff sergeant Mark DiPasquale says the drug freed him from the 17 opioids, anti-anxiety pills and other medications that were prescribed to him for migraines, post-traumatic stress and other injuries from service that included a hard helicopter landing in Iraq in 2005.

“I just felt like a zombie, and I wanted to hurt somebody,” says DiPasquale, a co-founder of the Rochester, New York-based Veterans Cannabis Collective Foundation. It aims to educate vets about the drug he pointedly calls by the scientific name cannabis.

DiPasquale pushed to extend New York’s nearly two-year-old medical marijuana program to include post-traumatic stress. He’d qualified because of other conditions but felt the drug ease his anxiety, sleeplessness and other PTSD symptoms and spur him to focus on wellness.
“Do I still have PTSD? Absolutely,” says DiPasquale, 42. But “I’m back to my old self. I love people again.”

In a sign of how much the issue has taken hold among veterans, the 2.2-million-member American Legion began pressing the federal government this summer to let Department of Veterans Affairs doctors recommend medical marijuana where it’s legal. The Legion started advocating last year for easing federal constraints on medical pot research, a departure into drug policy for the nearly century-old organization.

“People ask, `Aren’t you the law-and-order group?’ Why, yes, we are,” Executive Director Verna Jones said at a Legion-arranged news conference early this month at the U.S. Capitol. But “when veterans come to us and say a particular treatment is working for them, we owe it to them to listen and to do scientific research required.”

Even Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin recently said “there may be some evidence that this (medical marijuana) is beginning to be helpful,” while noting that his agency is barred from helping patients get the illegal drug. (A few prescription drugs containing a synthetic version of a key chemical in marijuana do have federal approval to treat chemotherapy-related nausea.)

Medical marijuana first became legal in 1996 in California for a wide range of conditions; New Mexico in 2009 became the first state specifically to include PTSD patients. States have signed on in growing numbers particularly since 2014.

“It’s quite a sea change,” says Michael Krawitz, a disabled Air Force veteran who now runs Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, an Elliston, Virginia-based group that’s pursued the issue in many states.

Still, there remain questions and qualms – some from veterans – about advocating for medical marijuana as a treatment for PTSD.

It was stripped out of legislation that added six other diseases and syndromes to Georgia’s law that allows certain medical cannabis oils. The chairman of the New York Senate veterans’ affairs committee voted against adding PTSD to the state’s program, suggesting the drug might just mask their symptoms.

“The sooner we allow them to live and experience the kind of emotions we do, in an abstinence-based paradigm, the sooner that they are returning home,” said Sen. Thomas Croci, a Republican, former Navy intelligence officer and current reservist who served in Afghanistan.

The American Psychiatric Association says there’s not enough evidence now to support using pot to treat PTSD. The 82,000-member Vietnam Veterans of America group agrees.

“You wouldn’t have cancer treatments that aren’t approved done to yourself or your family members,” and marijuana should be subjected to the same scrutiny, says Dr. Thomas Berger, who heads VVA’s Veterans Health Council.

A federal science advisory panel’s recent assessment of two decades’ worth of studies found limited evidence that a synthetic chemical cousin of marijuana might help relieve PTSD, but also some data suggesting pot use could worsen symptoms.

Medical marijuana advocates note it’s been tough to get evidence when testing is complicated by pot’s legal status in the U.S.

A federally approved clinical trial of marijuana as a PTSD treatment for veterans is now underway in Phoenix, and results from the current phase could be ready to submit for publication in a couple of years, says one of the researchers, Dr. Suzanne Sisley.

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This is a good start. The VA is finally starting to listen to us ! !

I was feeling low this PM and sat down to a nice little bowl of Bubba Kush and am in a fine state now ! Listening to Jefferson Starship “Miracles” on vinyl.

I was just sitting here looking at the last big bud of Strawberry Kush that I grew last grow. It amazes me that I got the quality of relief in it. I am very happy with it. The bud has nice little colored pistils all over it and has a nice frost (Tricomes) to it !

I got in on the sale that Robert had and got 10 Skywalker OG and 5 AK-47. I love the AK since my first grow and still love it best. The Skywalker OG I have had in Oregon and it was great. Now to get my land approved and get moving before too much snow.

Thanks for the article. I just saw something about it on One America Network (my wife watches it all day). Going to watch the article again next hour, it should show for at least another hour. Take Care. Jerry :us: :man_farmer:

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F@$! THE VA! Went to one of the worst hospitals they have john Cochran after having a really bad day with family and quitting job. Nurse asks, after I had been talking to another g.I. for an hour , if I still felt suicidal I replied no. she sends me to shrink he asks if I had been feeling suicidal I replied yes. Shrink takes me back to nurse she says " oh now you’re feeling suicidal again" I knocked that bitch on her ass and walked out. Was later arrested for assault and forced to see another shrink 20 minutes once a month for 6 months. Shrink couldn’t of cared less just kept prescribing more and more crap to zombiefie me . After the 6 months was up I never went back . Best decision I ever made. 4 things help me stay kinda socially acceptable my motorcycle, my dogs, my guns and my weed. Anyone who doesn’t like any of the four can f@$! off. F@$! THEM VA F@$!ERS!!!

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Thank you for your service. I served both in the Navy and Army with a combine of 10 years. It is sad that our leaders who served do not have our backs. Again, thank you for your service.

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@TxGrowman, I too am a citizen of the Republic of Texas. I am honored to have represented our great Republic for 10 years. I am waiting for my beans that I ordered from ILGM. I plan to do a DWC SCROG.

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Howdy @Desperado Thank You for your service also. I started this blog to help pass on information that all of us receive to help our fellow vets. Also a good place to let off steam when needed. I hope some of the information is helpful to help us get better care at the VA.

Take Care, Jerry

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Tag me when ya get started.

I ordered some Skywalker OG and AK-47 and I just got an E-mail that they shipped today ! Can’t wait to wake the ladies up and start growing. I am going to grow one plant in my Grow Box. I made the box a while ago and it has produced some good plants. My Strawberry Kush that I grew last gave me 2.1 oz out of the one plant. I could have done better but I had to cut the grow short due to complications at home.

I will start a grow log when I get this one going. I might not be able to keep this plant as I may be moving to PA soon. If I can keep it real small for a while think I would be able to get it up there. Kinda hard to travel incognito with a three foot tree in the truck ! !

Stay safe and enjoy the cooler weather we are getting. It feels really nice to me ! Jerry :us: :man_farmer:

How’s it going brother ! I finally got an MD to certify my PTSD that the VA would not do. I got a lawyer and we are gonna go back and get the true disability rating for my service. So sick of fighting them.

Had a friend get me a 1/4 of GG when he went to CO last week. Damn, I love this stuff. Got some Skywalker OG coming in the mail. Do you know anyone that has grown it yet? It says that it is a little harder to grow. Just wondering what to expect. The results sound pretty impressive.

My place in PA is still in hiatus due to the survey not being accurate, at least that is what one person is saying. Sounds like it is going to be a hassle all over and I am starting to wonder if I should just withdraw my offer papers. Kinda hate to do that to my buddy but might be the only thing to do as far as me getting out of TX.

Hope you are enjoying the pre-Christmas rush ! I always loved this time of year despite the cold and snow we used to have in NYS and what I will be seeing hopefully, for me, this year. Take Care. Jerry :us: :man_farmer:

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Hey brother that is awesome on the doctor. Keep us posted as things play out. Love the GG myself and mine is in cure and i’m sampling it wow. Better than the GG I got locally, this GG is so sticky it won’t come out of the grinder!

The Skywalker OG is pretty new and I don’t think anyone has done a journal yet, but I could be wrong?

A friend of mine bought property in NC and ran into an easement issue. He rode it out, took a few more months to get it straightened out, but worth it. I would try and ride it out unless you’re in a hurry?

I love Christmas but I try to avoid the commercialism stuff. Looking forward to spending the time with the grandkids though!

So far no snow here in MA but I’m ready for whatever! lol. Take care Jerry!

:grinning::+1::palm_tree::v:

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Grandkids are what it is all about ! ! I love the innocent look of wonder in the eyes of a 3-4 year old on Christmas morning. I have a new Granddaughter this year to read “The Night Before Christmas” to. That is going to be fun. My two grandsons ran in the door last year and said “Grandpa, read now”.

Merry Christmas, my friend. :us: :man_farmer:

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Absolutely brother and Merry Christmas to you as well ! That is what it is all about! :christmas_tree::santa::child:

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A CHRISTMAS POEM written by a Marine who wanted this shared as much as possible.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE
MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER. ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I’D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN’T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
“SANTA DON’T CRY,THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON’T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS.”

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP.
I COULDN’T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT’S CHILL.

I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, “CARRY ON SANTA, IT’S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.”

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.”

Merry Christmas to all my friends at ILGM and new friends I have yet to meet. This is especially to the comrades in arms that have served their duty and now have the proud title of “Vet.” Thank you for your service. Jerry “Doc B” USN/USMC :us: :man_farmer:

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