"Restricting access to cannabis = increased opioid addiction and suicide." That's the message commuters driving down Miramar Road in Mira Mesa are seeing, thanks to a billboard placed by military veterans' advocacy group, Weed for Warriors. Placed on a popular commute for veterans heading to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, the sign highlights the devastating impact that the lack of access to medical cannabis in San Diego has on service members in the area.
Another billboard will be unveiled next week in San Marcos, off state highway 78.
"California and the nation's, veterans are dying at horrific rates from opioid addiction and suicide. A lack of local access to safe, legal medical cannabis in San Diego threatens the livelihood of veterans who depend on this medication," said Sean Kiernan, CEO of Weed for Warriors. "Local control has severely disrupted access to a product that veterans rely on. Despite serving their country overseas, the state's legal cannabis prohibition demonstrates veterans are being left behind."
Weed for Warriors says that veterans are often over-prescribed opioids to treat mental health disorders and illnesses such as symptoms related to PTSD, cancer and chronic pain. This can lead to overdose and addiction. San Diego has seen fatal overdoses from fentanyl increase by nearly 400% from 2018 to 2020. Cannabis has been shown to alleviate symptoms of PTSD in a study done by The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
According to MJBizdaily, in over 70% of localities throughout California, access to the regulated market is either prohibited or severely restricted. States that permit greater access to cannabis experienced 25% as shown in a paper “Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1999-2010”, published in JAMA internal medicine. More opioid-related deaths occur in states with restrictive cannabis laws.
"As a disabled veteran, medical cannabis has been a life-saving alternative treatment to ineffective opioids and the cocktail of medications I was overprescribed to manage my pain," said veteran and San Diego resident Victoria Wilson.
"Unfortunately, local bans and licensing caps on legal cannabis in San Diego restrict access for veterans like me. Access barriers mean we are forced to travel long distances to access legal medical cannabis or forgo our medication altogether, costing us our health and lives," Wilson said.
Photo: Courtesy of Shelby Ireland on Unsplash
