Should a Vietnam veteran be denied pain pills after testing positive for marijuana?

Give him his pain meds and marijuana!!!! This is what will improve his quality of LIFE!!!! What ever he needs....GIVE IT TO HIM....

It depends on the doctor and the state. You need to let the VA know if you are going to smoke marijuana, or are already smoking it. Since different states are allowing medical marijuana, I read that is the way the VA is handling it. Here's a good link for more information.

http://kdvr.com/2014/05/08/marijuana-use-wont-disqualify-u-s-veteran-for-healthcare/

Granted I live in Colorado where it is legal, but I believe he is trying to receive help with any means necessary, and for him to go to them for help, no he should not be denied, I self medicate, because I am still waiting to get back on my meds. But ever since I have been self-medicating ,I feel 10 times better then I ever did when I was medicated by the VA.

No he should not be denied. Furthermore, if it helps his quality of life and helps with the pain why not!

This is such a tough area. When I was a practicing clinical psychotherapist I dealt with this at least once a week with my patients with chronic pain. They would be on pain meds and also smoking pot. When narcotics contracts became common we would talk about the risks. My patients also suffered from mental illness, depression, anxiety, PTSD (civilians) and all would become enraged at the thought of having to stop smoking. Eventually most would "pop positive" and would be shocked when their doctor would stop their pain meds. For many this is a lifestyle choice as in "no one can tell me what I can or can't do" and when Maine became a legal MJ State they then tried to become legal experts.

The outcome is the same though. Once someone has signed a narcotics contract they have agreed to certain conditions to obtain the pain meds they need. One of them is no marijuana, legal in their State or not. I believe the VA is doing this to look out for the patient and to cover their ass as ALL doctors do. The main reason though, IMHO, is the billion dollar illegal drug trade in the country.

I am also on VA provided pain meds and take screening tests whenever asked. I was once threatened with stopping pain meds because my tests showed I hadn't taken enough pain meds. I was subjected to random pill counting for over 2 years. I had had an unexpected good period of pain control, the first in 10 years! Until that time I was given pain meds as prn, trusted to refill them as needed without a problem. All this was done with a new doctor who didn't know me, he also put me on time released meds for "stricter control". I share this not to be bitter, I think it is a sadly humorous tale of the lengths the medical profession now has to go to because they (doctors, VA, government) fear we are all becoming addicts as we try to manage, in particular, service connected injuries and pain.

Its hard to really say because did the veteran use marijuana because the pain was so excessive? I know there are hundreds of studies saying that the THC in marijuana has pain controlling management properties and can actually help people suffering chronic pain.
I don't know the effects of mixing prescription pain medication with marijuana and I would bet there are studies out there both positive and negative.
Veterans suffering pain need help and I think that the VA needs to do more.

Reading the article it sounds like it was a medical decision. Should a doctor be somehow compelled to prescribe incompatible drugs that will harm their patient? Should they provide prescriptions for drugs with unknown interactions, which this would be since a herbal product like marijuana is going to be unknown strength and composition? Can someone guarantee no malpractice suits will be filed if it goes bad?

Living in CA, I see signs by NG unit for "suffering from PTSD, get you medical Marijuana, see DrXXXX" which quite frankly pisses me off in more ways than you can imagine. 1. its location near a National Guard unit that has a lot of people who have done multiple deployments is tasteless. 2. making money off some Vet's PTSD in this manner, make me want to Keel haul this guy, and I was never in the Navy. 3. It is still illegal for service members to partake in this stuff. 4. Side effects of marijuana anxiety, why the frack would we give something to people who suffer from anxiety already?

So with regards to our Vietnam vets, He is on an opiate and wants to take marijuana. The VA is protecting itself, as I doubt there has been a study on this to prove the long and short term benefits. I have to side with the VA on this.

Is it medicine prescription from private doctor for Glaucoma? Is the Glaucoma considerd service connected disability?

There is some potential that recognition of the medicinal benefits will be forthcoming. Politics has blocked substantial research since it was first banned. The official VA position is currently:
"Marijuana use for medical conditions is an issue of growing concern. Some Veterans use marijuana to relieve symptoms of PTSD and several states specifically approve the use of medical marijuana for PTSD. However, controlled studies have not been conducted to evaluate the safety or effectiveness of medical marijuana for PTSD. Thus, there is no evidence at this time that marijuana is an effective treatment for PTSD. In fact, research suggests that marijuana can be harmful to individuals with PTSD. :