Casey Robinson of Santa Cruz, Calif. served in the Marine
Corps from March 2001 to March 2006, completing three tours in Iraq. He
was injured in 2003, and again in 2005. After completing his term he was
honorably discharged due to his injuries, then referred to the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs for treatment. That treatment involved a
cocktail of different pharmaceutical drugs, which Robinson says made him
feel unbearably numb, “like a zombie.”
That zombie effect, or inability to feel anything after
using pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to veterans for psychological
issues and pain, is commonly reported,
as is suicide, which is listed as a possible side effect on most of the
drugs commonly prescribed through the VA to treat psychological
symptoms in veterans.
Robinson was luckier than many vets, an22 of whom take their own lives every day in the U.S. according to a study released by the VA. He found relief in an alternative form of medicine, which more and more veterans are advocating for the right to consume: cannabis.
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