The U.S. military's new medical frontline

Carmel Wroth | June/July 2009 issue

Photographs: istockphoto.com/EchoArt (helmet); istockphoto.com/AlexStar (stones)

Is the U.S. military looking for enlightenment? Meditation, yoga, acupuncture and even pet ownership are all part of a research program funded by the Department of Defense to find new tactics for combating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other stress-related conditions and traumatic brain injury. "We come to it with an open mind," says Lt. Col. Jay Stone, one of the officers in charge of funding the research. "We want to know about all the possible treatments out there."

The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury launched the initiative, spending nearly $5 million last year—more than 10 percent of its research budget—investigating alternative and complementary medical techniques. The Defense Department estimates that 42,600 service members have been diagnosed with PTSD and 36,000 with traumatic brain injury since 2001.

The current recommended treatments for PTSD include cognitive behavioral therapy and drugs for anxiety and depression, but "these don’t work for everybody," says Stone. "We’re always looking for alternative treatments. Most alternative treatments have not been rigorously studied and we want to fill that gap and fund research that will scientifically and rigorously answer the question, Is there proof that these methods can help?"

If the research proves conclusive when it’s completed sometime next year, some of these alternative therapies might be included in the Defense Department’s clinical practice guidelines. That would mean military doctors could start prescribing them. The funded research includes yoga, mindfulness and self-compassion meditation, acupuncture for PTSD and a separate study for insomnia, virtual reality therapy and pet ownership.

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Comments (2)

Dance / Movement Therapy (DMT), like yoga, can help because DMT uses movement as the primary means of assessment, communication, and expression.

For people with PTSD, the body is not merely addressed in therapy but actually given a voice. Memories that may be too difficult to express verbally can be shared through movement and dissociated feelings, previously unknown, can be identified as they arise in the body. Survivors can eventually regain a sense of control over confusing thoughts and feelings as they navigate their own bodily felt experience. Relaxation and stress reduction techniques can also be incorporated to help survivors modulate emotional reactions, decrease muscular tension, lessen symptoms of hyperarousal and better adjust to daily routines.

For more information about Dance / Movement Therapy, go to www.adta.org

posted by blairingrid on 7/11/2009 10:52 am

Legalize medical marijuana:

A pamphlet entitled "10 Things Every Parent, Teenager and Teacher Should Know About Marijuana" produced by the Family Council on Drug Awareness tells us marijuana is not physically addictive. The 1980 Costa Rican study, the 1975 Jamaican study and the 1972 Nixon Blue Ribbon Report all concluded that marijuana use does not lead to physical dependency. The FBI reports that 65 to 75 percent of criminal violence is alcohol-related. On the other hand, Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry Anslinger testified before Congress in 1948 that marijuana leads to nonviolence and pacifism.

In a message to Congress on August 2, 1977, President Jimmy Carter insisted: "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself."

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Law Judge Francis L. Young wrote on September 8, 1988: "Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."

After years of suppression by the government, the truth about medical marijuana is finally coming out. Dr. Tod Mikuriya, former director of marijuana research for the entire federal government, wrote in 1996: "I was hired by the government to provide scientific evidence that marijuana was harmful. As I studied the subject, I began to realize that marijuana was once widely used as a safe and effective medicine. But the government had a different agenda, and I had to resign."

Of all the reasons to legalize marijuana, the most compelling is its medical usage. Marijuana has a wide variety of therapeutic applications, and is frequently helpful in treating the following conditions:

AIDS. Marijuana reduces the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by both the ailment itself and as a side effect of treatment with AZT and other medicines.

Asthma. Several studies have shown that THC acts as a bronchodilator and reverses bronchial constriction. Although conventional bronchodilators work faster than marijuana, THC has been shown to last longer and with considerably less risk.

Arthritis and Other Autoimmune Diseases. In addition to its effectiveness in controlling the pain associated with arthritis, new evidence shows that marijuana is an autoimmune modulator.

Cancer. Marijuana stimulates the appetite and alleviates nausea and vomiting, common side effects of chemotherapy treatment. People undergoing chemotherapy find that smoking marijuana is an anti-nauseant often more effective than mainstream medications.

Chronic Pain. Marijuana alleviates the debilitating, chronic pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries.

Epilepsy. Marijuana is used as an adjunctive medicine to prevent epileptic seizures. Some patients find that they can reduce dosage of other seizure-control medications while using cannabis.

Glaucoma. Marijuana can reduce intraocular pressure, alleviating pain and slowing (and sometimes stopping) the progress of the condition.

Multiple Sclerosis. Marijuana limits the muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease, and relieves tremor and unsteady gait.

Muscle Spasm and Spasticity. Medical marijuana has been clinically shown to be effective in relieving these.

Migraine Headaches. Marijuana not only relieves pain, but also inhibits the release of serotonin during attacks.

Paraplegia and Quadriplegia. Many paraplegics and quadriplegics have discovered that cannabis not only relieves their pain better than opiates, but also suppresses their muscle twitches and tremors.

Tobacco kills about 430,700 each year. Alcohol and alcohol-related diseases and injuries kill about 110,000 per year. Secondhand tobacco smoke kills about 50,000 every year. Aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs kill 7,600 each year. Cocaine kills about 500 yearly alone, and another 2,500 in combination with another drug. Heroin kills about 400 yearly alone, and another 2,500 in combination with another drug. Adverse reactions to prescription drugs total 32,000 per year, while marijuana kills no one.

A November 4, 2002 Time/CNN Poll found that eighty percent of those polled felt marijuana should be legal only for therapeutic purposes. 72 percent felt recreational users should get fines rather than jail time, which is essentially decriminalization. The complete legalization of marijuana was favored only by 34 percent of respondents, but this figure is twice as large as it was in 1986. Marijuana is safer than alcohol and tobacco, and our drug laws should reflect this reality.

posted by vasumurti on 7/14/2009 7:10 pm