VA hospitals continue not to prescribe medical marijuana

Jason Ambrosino served a decade in the US Army, including overseas in Iraq between 2005 and 2006. When Ambrosino retired in 2014, he was 100% disabled and received seven different prescriptions from Veterans Affairs hospital doctors.

“There were too many. It really ruined my life. Was the pain level lower or didn’t the problems I had bothered me so much? Yes, of course, but the problem was that the combination of these drugs made me an unproductive zombie, ”says Ambrosino.

Tired of being tired, he looked for another solution. He and some of his military friends started trying CBD products. He says this, coupled with medical marijuana, was a life changer and allowed him to deviate from his prescriptions.

But while it’s legal in New York, VA hospitals don’t prescribe or encourage the use of marijuana products. The hospital system works at the federal level, where marijuana is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

Instead, the hospital’s doctors say they prescribe other drugs, such as ambrosino, and offer things like physical therapy and exercise.

“Our goal is to provide the most effective treatment modality that best suits the veteran’s needs, with the veteran being an integral part in choosing the treatment that best suits his or her goal,” said Peter Potter, director for Stratton VA Medical Center public affairs in a statement.

After the Farm Bill 2018 was passed, Ambrosino started the Veterans Hemp Market. The company offers several CBD-based products that aim to share what worked for Ambrosino.

“We got rave reviews about it. People who are currently cancer patients and this is the only relief they could get,” says Ambrosino.

Ambrosino said the company’s first year sales were between $ 40,000 and $ 50,000. That rose to around $ 250,000 last year. Many of his customers are veterans.

He hopes the future will include more education and options for war veterans, something he knows won’t be possible until marijuana is decriminalized at the federal level.

“We have to move it to the federal level. At the federal level, nothing will happen until this rescheduling takes place, ”says Ambrosino.