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

I think if a Vietnam vet, who by the way is around 60 years old, smokes a little marijuana should not be penalized. Hell, he's paying for it himself which saves taxpayers money. I believe by the time I retire in seven years it will be legal and Willey Nelson are going to have a Party. .... Doesn't the VA have bigger issues to give attention to like how about taking care of service members in less than 90 - 120 days. Maybe then the Vets would not have to go outside the lines to get pain relief. If I operated in the same half hearted, apathetic, and self absorbed attitude that some of the VA SR employees do would be at the very least relieved if not kicked out of the military altogether.

Given all other LACK of resources and service ever offered to those lucky enough to even get home from Vietnam, I'd say NO. This country owes them far more than that. If anything, get them into mental health treatment and after many meetings, determine if they need any sobriety programs. My comment here stands regardless of the "which state is it legal in" issue. Its not like anyone is being punitively dealt with for spitting on them or calling them Baby Killers when they returned home. And remember many of them had no interest in the military, but rather FedGov snatch their lives from them and their families.

Hell no!

Anyone read this? http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/cannabis-pdq
or perhaps this?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/how-effective-is-medical-marijuana-heres-a-closer-look-at-14-different-uses/ar-AAbxpqn#page=1
http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/

"Should a Vietnam veteran be denied pain pills after testing positive for marijuana?"
A better question is, "Should ANY human who is on a clear and short trip to a painful death be denied any substance that brings them any relief, be it physical or mental"
And My answer is a resounding NO.

What are they afraid he is going to get addicted?
Are they concerned he is going to die? news flash, that course is set for us all, and a very short trip it is for a stage 4 lung cancer patient.

Perhaps he should be prescribed "medical marijuana" what's the harm, it's obvious the pain pills were not working otherwise he wouldn't have defaulted to the marijuana.
My father died from pancreatic cancer and the last three months I spent with him (no nursing home), he was in constant pain and moaning all the time. The only thing he would say to me is "Joey it hurts so bad" trying to fight back the tears... My dad was a "Tough Proud Irishmen".

Any medical professional that is responsible for the "pain management" of an individual should be required to go through.. call it a boot camp on "sensitivity training" and their final test should be the "pain phase" inject them with something that's not going to kill them... obviously, but will let them experience for 24 hours what constant debilitating pain feels like. I know that's ridiculous and absurd but I am just so damn tired of medical doctors "not listening" and rushing their patients through like corralling cattle.

It use to be "take 3 of these and I will see you in the morning"..
Now it's take this to the pharmacy and they will give you a 3 month supply with 2 refills, then go to the front desk and they will schedule your next appointment, probably close to the time you need a new prescription.

Sorry for the rant, I am just so damn pissed how our vets are being treated.

I do however offer this final solution that will actually solve the question of how we can give "quality and timely" health care to our brothers and sisters in arms.

First..Shut Down every VA Hospital in the country, maybe we can turn them into job training centers for our veterans.

Lastly, transfer all our veterans to the Five-Star health care plan that our US Congress and many federal employees enjoy today.

Problem Solved!!

Healthcare is a team effort that involves the participation of a provider, and a patient in a mutually voluntary status. It is not like fast food drive through where you can go through one drive-through and get a burger, and go through another drive-through and get French fries that you prefer to make up a meal. If the provider does not wish to prescribe that medication they do not have to provide the medication. This goes through all levels of healthcare if the pharmacist sees something that is a major safety risk and they cannot see how it is mitigated then it’s fully appropriate for them not to dispense the medication, and if it is an inpatient the nurse does not have to administer the medication (It is a safety concern). This gentleman is being provided a clear option and he has made a clear choice, the fact that he is made a clear choice does not absolve the healthcare providers that are involved in his care from their responsibility to ensure his safety.

Further with consideration to the author who appears to have her background in legal consulting and case management not necessarily clinical pain management. It does seem that the Department of Veterans Affairs will prescribe Marinol (synthetic cannabis) which would seem both appropriate, and legal in the situation. My personal opinion on all this is that he needed to make an appointment with his provider, and have a real conversation on whether or not his pain needed to be referred to a pain management specialist, or if that provider could provide other ways of managing the situation. Instead the individual went to the illegal drug dealer, and now the legal ones have lost confidence in their ability to treat him in an ethical manner (Call me cold, but this is his fault).

I think the biggest problem that I have with the whole situation is that this is not really about this gentleman and his pain, or even protecting the licenses and livelihoods of the his providers, but it is about pursuing somebody’s agenda related to the legalization of marijuana.

COL Mikel J. Burroughs
Thanks for sharing. While I don't use MJ myself (mostly because of my job working for a defense contractor and subject to federal law: drug testing, security clearance requirements, etc.) I am a proponent of legalized MJ (both medical and recreational).

Even if it were legal I myself wouldn't use it as I have no desire to (my pain is pretty mild and an occasional Excedrin is all I need). But if people enjoy it and/or it helps take the edge off their pain or PTSD, why not? Booze and tobacco are legal and a lot of studies I've read conclude that those two substances are far more addictive than weed. I've also talked to many veterans with PTSD and multiple types of combat/service-related injuries, as well as cancer patients, who DO use MJ and they all say that it has changed their lives for the better.

There are prescription cannibinolds available. One is called Marinol which is used for nausea especially cancer patients. This veteran should be prescribed something like that. While I definitely understand the concern COL Burroiughs and Krimberly Bolen say about Big Phama; they are indeed a formidable lobby; however, I don't trust storefront medical marijuana shops since they are not regulated very much. There could be harmful side ingredients. Same with the legal shops in Washington and Colorado. One of 2 things should happen: Either make it legal federally where it would be regulated by the FDA; or keep it illegal and enforce that law on the states, but make all medical research legal, and permit all doctors to appropriately prescribe cannibinoids from official pharmaceutical channels. You cant have it both ways right now its a confusing, contradictory system.

No...put the Vet into therapy and or detox...help the vet...don't just deny him his meds. Get him the right kind of help so he can heal....but then again...if the VET has cancer or some other horrible disease...or glaucoma....where Marijuana actually helps relieve their pain and suffering, then YES.