Today in Long Beach i took care of a 54 year old female who has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Bipolar since 1994. She is currently seeing a psychiatrist every month who has her taking 5 (FIVE!) different medications to manage her symptoms. Since starting her medication she has gained 120lbs (known side effect of two of the medications) and states she is “a walking zombie”. She has very little quality of life and now wants to do something about it. She had use marijuana in the past when first diagnosed and managed to only need to use 1 medication but stopped when she started having children. She is now at her wits end and wants a better life. READ ON

Lately I have been seeing more and more patients with PTSD looking to medical marijuana as an alternative to the medications that their psychiatrists have prescribed. Because I have an office in Long Beach next to the VA and also take care of many Marines from Camp Pendleton I am seeing more and more how cannabis is helping them.

As medical director of Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often meet patients who are combat veterans and are in need of help. One of the blessings in my life was the opportunity to serve along side the Marines of 1st Battalion 4th Marines in Iraq from January-September 2003. I witnessed combat from the front lines and experienced the buffet of emotions that our troops go through on a daily basis. Now that I am honorably discharged I can openly discuss the benefits of using cannabis to take care of:

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I have many patients who are combat veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Unfortunately the military has a ZERO tolerance towards any drug use and does not recognize cannabis as a medicine. The majority of these patients have made the decision to use medicine for one of two things:

Today in my Irvine clinic I had two patients who were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). One was unfortunately physically and verbally abused by her boss and the second was involved in a very traumatic car accident where he lost one of his best friends. Both of these patients experienced a combination of difficulty sleeping, recurring nightmares, avoidance and depression.