Since his return from three tours of duty with the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, Leo Bridgewater said, three of his "combat buddies" have attempted suicide.
Two succeeded, he said. A third, Phillip Dumé, joined Bridgewater on Thursday in testifying on a bill that would require New Jersey to include post traumatic stress disorder on the list of illnesses that can be treated under the state's medical marijuana program.
Both men already have medical marijuana prescriptions related to problems with their knees. Dumé said if he did not, he would be dealing with other problems.
"I tried to commit suicide when I first came back," said Dumé, a 28-year-old Trenton resident. "I was one of those guys."
The marijuana he gets for his replaced knee also helps him deal with other issues, Dumé said.
"It helps me out. It's one reason I'm able to speak to you guys," he told lawmakers. "It helps me focus. It helps me calm down. It helps me sleep."
After hearing from the two men and several other witnesses, the committee voted 3-0, with Assemblyman Ronald Dancer abstaining, to forward the bill to a vote by the full Assembly. The Assembly approved a similar bill in March 2015 by a 53-13 vote, but it died in a Senate committee.
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Mercer, chairman of the oversight committee and a co-sponsor of the bill, said he is more optimistic about the chances for passage in both houses of the Legislature this year.
"I think it's a learning curve," Gusciora said after the hearing. "There have been more studies that have come out. Congress is debating whether to allow it in VA hospitals. Pennsylvania just passed a medical marijuana program that included PTSD."
"And who are we to challenge scientists and medical researchers that are recommending medical marijuana for soldiers?" he asked.
Among the witnesses who testified at the hearing was Dr. Alexander Neumeister, a Brooklyn psychiatrist who has researched PTSD and the brain.
Neumeister said medical marijuana offers promise for the treatment of PTSD.
"People who use it report it is safe and highly effective," he told lawmakers.
Lawmaker optimistic
Governor Christie has resisted expansion of the medical marijuana program, calling it "a front for legalization" in 2014.
Assemblyman Tim Eustace, a co-sponsor of the bill, said he is optimistic that Christie will change his mind when it comes to PTSD.
"There's been more research on its efficacy," said Eustace, D-Maywood. "And I think the governor sees that veterans are not as well treated as they should be and that this is a way to lift that."
New Jersey opened its medical marijuana registry in August 2012. Since then 6,960 patients and 631 caregivers had received approval to take part in the program as of March. Six dispensaries have opened.
The program currently allows the medicinal use of marijuana for several ailments, including glaucoma, muscular dystrophy, severe or chronic pain, terminal cancer and other terminal illnesses.
A state Health Department medical marijuana review panel that will consider petitions to expand the list of illnesses held its first meeting on May 25.
http://ift.tt/Ws9FSG N.J. bill would allow marijuana prescriptions to treat PTSD via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1RUCPyk
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