SKUNK ALERT! (aka Potent Pot) MARIJUANA MAKES PTSD WORSE …. NOT BETTER! Veterans deserve quality care. The Blumenauer Amendment to allow the VA to prescribe “medical marijuana” for veterans suffering from PTSD will cause the death and/or destruction of many veterans, and many others at their mercy. All credible scientific studies indicate that marijuana use makes mental illnesses worse, not better. There are numerous studies showing that today’s highly potent pot causes psychotic breaks leading to violent acts and suicides. It is not a treatment for depression, paranoia and schizophrenia ….. it is a causal factor. The American Psychiatric Association officially does not endorse using marijuana for PTSD. For that matter, the FDA and all credible medical associations don’t recommend marijuana for medical use at all, because it has no accepted medical application, cannot be administered properly under supervision and has the potential for harm. And harm, indeed, is what is happening throughout America because of today’s highly potent pot, called Skunk, being sold under the guise of medicine. Calling Skunk “medical marijuana” in itself is a joke. CBD, the potentially beneficial compound has been largely bred out in favor of THC, the psychoactive ingredient. The potency has climbed from 1/2 to 2% THC, to as high as high as 40% in smoked form and 95% as Butane Hemp Oil (BHO). That is not medicine. It is a lethal weapon. The result has been psychotic episodes, mass murders and suicides from coast to coast. Fortunately it doesn’t happen to everyone, but it is happening to enough young people that Congress should take note and defer to medical science and the FDA as to what constitutes a safe and efficacious medicine. One highly visible example of how marijuana exacerbates the problem is Eddie Routh, who shot American Sniper Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield who were trying to help him because of his PTSD. According to Dr. Randall Price, a forensic psychologist who testified as the prosecution's medical expert, “ …Routh's heavy marijuana use caused a "substance-induced psychotic disorder." Fortunately not everyone who uses Skunk lapses into mental illness, but Routh is not an isolated case. We have grieving mothers from coast to coast because their sons or daughters had a psychotic break and committed suicide. We have mothers suffering psychotic episodes who have killed their own babies. In one case a woman suffering postpartum depression, self-medicated with marijuana and decapitated her 3 month old baby. Marijuana has been a factor in most school shootings, the Boston Bombers, the Aurora theater, the Tucson shooting that killed six and left Congresswoman Gabby Giffords brain damaged, and many more. The fact that 23 states have been allowed to decriminalize marijuana for medicinal purposes is indicative of a lapse in government responsibility. Protecting public health and safety should be the number one responsibility of government at all levels. We are counting on Congress to safeguard our veterans; for that matter, all of us. CALMca.org STOPPOT2016 POPPOT.org Contact Roger Morgan rogermorgan339@gmail.com for further information