Examples -

LTL Example #1 - will go here.

I wanted to fill everyone in on all the coverage SB 281 has generated over the past 24 hours. **PSU SSDP Chapter President and Reddit guru Romain Bonilla posted one of Jose's quotes on Reddit last night and it went viral in a few different communities. Once again, a big thanks to everyone who came out for this. *

Sam

Bill allowing medical marijuana for PTSD advances to Senate floor | A bill that would allow people with post-traumatic stress disorder to get medical marijuana is now headed to the Senate floor without any changes. The Senate Judiciary Committee moved Senate Bill 281 to the Senate floor this morning on a 3-2 vote.

In Oregon, medical marijuana is currently allowed for patients with certain debilitating medical conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, Alzheimer's disease, HIV and AIDS. The bill would add PTSD - a type of anxiety disorder that occurs in people who have seen or experienced a traumatic event -- to that list.

There were a number of amendments to the bill including one that would require medical marijuana users to renew their registry identification card after 60 days instead of annually. Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, said that he decided to leave the bill unchanged because he thought the amendments were not "necessary or appropriate" and could "do more harm than good."

Two Republicans - Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg and Sen. Betsy Close, R-Albany - voted against advancing the bill. Close testified against the bill in a public hearing held last week, arguing that marijuana had long-term health effects that damage the body and brain.

Supporters of the bill, which included veterans, argued that marijuana helped them wean off of pharmaceutical drugs and helps with symptoms of the disorder. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law and classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning there is no accepted medical use of the drug. >> Read more >>

Treating PTSD with Medical Marijuana Could Curb Veteran Suicides by John J. Walters | Mar. 22, 2013 >

When T.J. Thompson returned from serving in Iraq, the Veterans Administration put him on Lorazepam a high-potency, short-acting drug used to fight anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and aggression. It didn't work. Thompson's anxiety worsened until it almost killed him. In Thompson's own words: I took 28 [pills] and blacked out one night. I also drank an 18 pack of beer in that same night. I declared that I would never take nor have that medication in my house again.

His brush with death is, tragically, more common than you might think. U.S. military veterans are committing suicide at increasing rates - averaging 22 per day. That's 20 percent higher than in 2007. >> Read more >>

Marijuana PTSD Bill Clears Senate Health Committee, Sen. Chip Shields spearheaded the vote on an un-amended bill authorizing doctors to prescribe marijuana for post-traumatic stress disorder, which now is headed to the Senate Judiciary Committee By: Christopher David Gray

March 1, 2013 -- The Senate Health Committee voted 4-1 Thursday to give approval to Senate Bill 281 - < read text >, which would expand the medical marijuana program to include post-traumatic stress disorder. The committee referred the bill to the Senate President, Peter Courtney, who's expected to pass it along to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing.

"That's fantastic news," said Jerry Wade, a veteran and member of the Stormy Ray Cardholders Foundation, an information and advocacy group for medical marijuana patients based in Silverton. "We've been trying to have PTSD added for many, many years," Wade told The Lund Report after the vote. "The medical evidence is finally catching up."

At the first public hearing in early February, the Health Committee heard from several experts - << Read more >> - from around the country as well as a packed room of supporters, including disabled veterans, who traveled from across Oregon. No one testified in opposition. On Thursday, Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg voted against the bill after his request that it be a part of a larger evaluation of the medical marijuana program was denied.

"If we're going to treat marijuana as a medicine. … I think there's some therapeutic value in having the patient check in with the doctor," Kruse said. A marijuana card is currently good for one year after a doctor's visit. Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton agreed, and said that while patients with blood pressure medicine may only see a doctor once a year, no other controlled substance is prescribed for longer than three months.

"I don't think the evidence is compelling one way or another about PTSD, but I'm not compelled to think that marijuana should be illegal," said Steiner Hayward, a medical doctor. "If we're treating it like medicine, we should treat it like a medicine and we should have ongoing medical care." But Sen. Chip Shields, D-Portland, quashed that discussion and successfully pushed for the bill to be passed along with a do-pass recommendation.

"I think the proponents of this bill came forward with a very narrow bill related to one particular diagnosis," Shields said. "I think that if we want to open the can of worms of whether or not medical marijuana is a good thing or a bad thing I think the voters have told us clearly where they are." Shields added that if Kruse and Steiner Hayward wanted to re-evaluate the program, they should drop a separate bill and not tie up the PTSD expansion with something that would be more comprehensive and time-consuming.

Steiner Hayward voted for the bill, saying she understood Shields' point about the narrowness of the bill but told Kruse she was interested in working with him to draft a separate bill overhauling the program if he was so inclined. Kruse also sits on the Judiciary Committee, where he will have a chance to vote on SB 281 once again. Read more >>

Oregon bill would allow medical marijuana for PTSD - Written by JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - When the Legislature convenes next week, a Senate committee will hear public testimony on a proposal to allow people with post-traumatic stress disorder to get medical marijuana cards. Proponents say the drug could help veterans with PTSD manage their symptoms. They say some people with PTSD already have medical marijuana cards due to other medical conditions.

Oregon law allows people with specific medical conditions to apply for a medical marijuana card, including Alzheimer's, cancer, glaucoma and AIDS. The bill would add PTSD to the list of conditions that qualify. Oregon law allows people with specific medical conditions to apply for a medical marijuana card, including Alzheimer's, cancer, glaucoma and AIDS. The bill would add PTSD to the list of conditions that qualify.

Critics of the medical marijuana program have long fought expansions to the list. - Read more >>

Full Video of Jose Garza's Testimony | How could anyone deny this man who? gave his all for us! Josa you are a HERO! I pray you get your MMJ you deserve to have the plant God created for you and many others! - View Video >>

Medical marijuana advocates rally in support of veterans | SALEM, OR (KPTV) - Medical marijuana advocates in Oregon are voicing their support for a Senate bill that would add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of qualifying conditions allowed by the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. Advocacy groups met at the Oregon State Capitol Building on Thursday in support of the new bill. Currently, veterans who suffer from PTSD cannot acquire the medicine through the program for the disorder alone. Oregon's marijuana laws do, however, allow for patients to acquire the drug for pain caused by the PTSD. - Read more >>

PTSD may join Oregon medical marijuana list | At the first public hearing of Senate Bill 281, military veterans, medical professionals and others testified that marijuana can help alleviate some of the symptoms of PTSD: extreme anxiety, recurring nightmares, sleeping difficulties and suicidal tendencies. In many cases, they said, marijuana is much more effective than anti-depressants and other more traditional medications prescribed for PTSD. - Read more >>

Marijuana best treatment for stress disorder, Oregon lawmakers told | "We have failed to find any medications at this point that provide consistent benefits" for the thousands of war veterans and others who suffer from the disorder [like cannabis does], said Bryon Krumm, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at the Sage Neuroscience Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "It's all pretty much been a crap shoot up to this point." - Read more >>

Marijuana and PTSD: A Veteran Talks About the Benefits | SALEM, Ore. - Veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder want to be able to smoke pot legally in the state of Oregon. They spoke Thursday at the state Capitol in favor of Senate Bill 281. The bill would add PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions allowed by the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. Critics have argued the list should not be expanded. Jose Garza, a Navy veteran with PTSD, says marijuana helps ease his anxiety. >> View Video >>

*Reddit >> /r/Marijuana Upvotes:169 Comments:8 - It has most definitely helped me manage crippling insomnia, stop drinking, and I've lost 30 lbs in 6 months with no particular "diet", just normal eating habits. It makes me resentful and bitter that no doctor ever even mentioned it as an option, until I did, because of the social stigma. Vaporizer and edibles 100% for me. Medication with 0 harm, still shunned by society. It's shameful. ... Read more >>

/r/Psychology Upvotes:257 Comments: 33 - "Marijuana is not just the best drug, it's the only drug that consistently helps people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder" ... Read more >>

/r/Politics Upvotes:685 Comments: 139 - Treating PTSD with Marijuana: "I'm not a hippie, I'm not a stoner. I'm not a criminal. I'm a United States veteran, and this is what saved my life." (oregonlive.com) Welcome to r/Politics! Please note: US politics, news only and no meme images. Read more >> **

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