Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 8-27-21

Combat Nurse
‘America’s Combat Nurse’ Campaigns To Help Vets Fight PTSD With Cannabis
Editor’s note: This com- mentary is provided by the Medical Marijuana Educa- tion and Research Initiative (MMERI) of Florida A&M University.
Retired U. S. Air Force (USAF) nurse Cherissa Jackson may have survived three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, where she witnessed the human toll of war, but years later she is still engaged in a battle that haunts her and hundreds of thousands of other combat veterans.
Jackson’s experiences with treating wounded sol- diers left her with the invisi- ble scars of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. It’s a serious mental health ill- ness that Jackson believes afflicted vets should be able to counterattack with med- ical marijuana provided through the Veterans Affairs’ healthcare system, an option
that’s prohibited because marijuana, regardless of its use, is illegal under federal law.
But she is not taking on this campaign alone; Jack- son is the chief medical ex- ecutive for AMVETS’ HEAL (Healthcare, Evaluations, Advocacy and Legislation) program, a leading propo- nent of medical marijuana as an effective treatment for vets with PTSD and other chronic health conditions. AMVETS describes itself as “the nation’s most inclusive congressionally-chartered veterans service organiza- tion,” with 250,000 mem- bers. Jackson, who served more than 23 years in the USAF and rose to the rank of captain, calls herself, “Amer- ica’s combat nurse” as she advocates for removing legal and bureaucratic barriers that keep vets from access- ing a natural alternative to potentially addictive phar-
CHERISSA JACKSON
maceuticals.
“I take this role very per-
sonally, and I’m out here every day fighting and advo- cating for veterans,” said Jackson, who wrote a memoir about her own struggles with PTSD, “At Peace, Not in Pieces: Power- ing Through the Pain.”
Jackson organized the
first conference in the nation to educate veterans about the cannabis industry and the potential benefits of medical cannabis. The Vet- erans Alternative Healthcare Summit was held in 2021 on June 27, National PTSD Awareness Day, as a virtual event. It featured high-pro- file medical cannabis advo- cates Montel Williams, who served in the Marines and Navy, and Dr. Sue Sis- ley, a psychiatrist who has conducted research on treat- ing PTSD patients with cannabis.
Conference topics in- cluded “Understanding the Endocannabinoid System and the Medical Benefits of Cannabis,” “Access to Med- ical Cannabis,” “Lobbying for Change,” “Career Oppor- tunities for Veterans in Cannabis,” and “Cannabis Education & Research.” Dr. Patricia Green-Powell, executive director of Florida A&M’s Medical Marijuana Education and Research Ini- tiative (MMERI), was a guest panelist on Education & Research discussion. Videos of every breakout ses- sion are posted online at www.amvetshealprogram.or g/.
Jackson said her moti- vation to stage the summit was to energize an AMVETS resolution that calls for vet- erans to have access to med- ical marijuana and, more importantly, to add fuel to a movement to allow VA healthcare providers to rec- ommend cannabis treat- ments. Currently, the VA only permits its physicians to talk about cannabis use with veterans. But the “Vet- erans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act,” which awaits U. S. Senate action, seeks to allow VA doctors to treat vets with medical mar- ijuana in states where it’s legal.
“That would be huge,” Jackson said of the impact the legislation, if approved, would have on veterans. “It would be a cost savings to veterans if their VA providers actually wrote the
recommendations. Those medical marijuana cards are upwards of $150 to $200 just to be allowed to go in- side a dispensary. VA health- care providers also would be able to educate veterans about the efficacy of cannabis and how to use it.”
Sensing there’s momen- tum building for a cause that’s very personal to her as a veteran with PTSD, Jack- son already has a second summit planned for this year. It will be held as an in- person event in Hawaii on Nov. 4 and 5.
“I think it’s very impor- tant for veterans to know they have options out here, and the option doesn’t al- ways have to be an opioid. It doesn’t always have to be a medication that you don’t want to be on. I think it’s im- portant that we spread that gospel that veterans have op- tions. I think it’s important that we provide those re- sources to veterans so we can decrease veterans’ sui- cide rate,” she said.
While veterans cannot go to VA doctors to seek cannabis treatments, they can still go to private prac- tice qualifying physicians at their expense in states where medical marijuana is legal. But Jackson said she runs into veterans who perpetu- ate the myth that they could lose their VA benefits if they’re discovered to be using cannabis.
“There isn’t anything technically out there that says if you disclose to your VA provider that you’re using cannabis you will lose your benefits. There is no law, but I know that is a fear in the veterans’ community,” she said.
MMERI’s Conversations on Cannabis Virtual Forum featuring Cherissa Jack- son on YouTube. Visit MMERI’s website at http://mmeri.famu.edu.
[EDITOR’S NOTE YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=akHS3mHetVI]
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