{"id":15072,"date":"2019-05-27T17:21:42","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T21:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lcpllutzlivetotell.org\/?p=15072"},"modified":"2019-08-08T12:27:22","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:27:22","slug":"veteran-suicides-darken-memorial-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/?p=15072","title":{"rendered":"Veteran suicides darken Memorial Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"headline\">Veteran suicides darken Memorial Day<\/h1>\n<p>Monday, May 27, 2019<\/p>\n<p>By Billy Cox<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JWI9fS6xrwE\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-summary\">With veteran suicides far outpacing combat fatalities, many veterans want legal access to medical cannabis, but the VA is resisting because of federal restrictions on marijuana<\/p>\n<p>SARASOTA \u2014 Proclaimed in 1868 as a moment to honor those who died while serving in the armed forces, Memorial Day lately finds latter-day U.S. troops and veterans contemplating an even darker meaning of sacrifice.<\/p>\n<p>According to Brown University\u2019s \u201cCosts of War Project\u201d released late last year, 6,951 troops have been killed in America\u2019s wars since 2001. But that toll pales in comparison to what survivors of those conflicts are doing to themselves. Using the Department of Veterans Affairs formula of 20.6 suicides a day, some 7,519 uniformed and retired military personnel took their lives in 2018 alone.<\/p>\n<p>And as the federal government continues to oppose a controversial herbal remedy that many veterans insist can and does mitigate their suffering, countless peer-support groups are multiplying across the country in hopes of filling the vacuum and tapping the brakes on this bleak spiral.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can go to all the counseling you want, but I think what you really need is people of your generation who\u2019ve been there,\u201d says Todd Hughes, an Army veteran and program manager for Goodwill Manasota\u2019s Veterans Services Program.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15073 size-medium aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lcpllutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7498-300x206.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7498-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7498-768x527.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7498-150x103.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7498.jpg 944w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><em>Hughes says he\u2019s lost six brothers in arms to suicide, and hopes a new local grassroots initiative called Lutz Buddy Up can nudge struggling veterans out of their isolation and connect them with others who\u2019ve found stable footing. \u201cIf we can just save one,\u201d he says, \u201cit\u2019s worth it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15074 size-medium aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lcpllutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7500-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7500-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7500-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7500-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7500-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7500.jpg 1648w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Army veteran Todd Hughes, left, and Janine Lutz welcome veterans to a \u201cLutz Buddy Up\u201d meeting at Goodwill Veteran Services Center in Sarasota. Janine is the mother of Johnny Lutz, who intentionally overdosed on VA-prescribed pills in 2013 after serving with the USMC in Afghanistan.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-15075\" src=\"https:\/\/lcpllutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7497-300x145.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7497-300x145.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7497-768x370.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7497-1024x493.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7497-150x72.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7497-640x311.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_7497.jpg 1654w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Iraq war veteran Todd Hughes, left, joins others in the Pledge of Allegiance during a \u201cLutz Buddy Up\u201d meeting at Goodwill Veteran Services Center in Sarasota.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Hughes says he\u2019s lost six brothers in arms to suicide, and hopes a new local grassroots initiative called Lutz Buddy Up can nudge struggling veterans out of their isolation and connect them with others who\u2019ve found stable footing. \u201cIf we can just save one,\u201d he says, \u201cit\u2019s worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the body counts keep stacking up.<\/p>\n<p>After 25 veterans killed themselves at VA facilities over the previous 18 months, the crisis dominated a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing in April and elicited pledges of urgent bipartisan legislation on monitoring and research. That session came on the heels of a Government Accountability Office report in December indicating less than 1 percent of federal funds earmarked for suicide prevention in 2018 had been spent \u2014 or $57,000 of a $6.2 million allotment.<\/p>\n<p>In January, the VA\u2019s National Director of Suicide Prevention, Dr. Keita Franklin, explained that the funding, designed to advertise and market its services, was put on hold after program designers felt the strategy was flawed because it was targeting only high-risk groups. Appointed to the job last year after the position sat vacant for eight months, Franklin said the program has since been restructured to address broader audiences.<\/p>\n<p>The nation\u2019s largest and oldest veterans service organization, however, says a long overdue drug-policy shift could likely make a difference overnight.<\/p>\n<p>In late 2017, after member surveys revealed overwhelming support for safe and legal access to marijuana, the American Legion formally urged Congress to scratch cannabis off the Schedule 1 list, where it has been erroneously classified since 1970.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pushing back<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last year, in a project called Warriors Rise Up,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rxforveterans.com\/?fbclid=IwAR0UNBb1xjCAWdLB0lIcCZfXiKjgtbc_tCrzzWygcL86MQuO8PjRrXjHH-U\">https:\/\/www.rxforveterans.com\/?fbclid=IwAR0UNBb1xjCAWdLB0lIcCZfXiKjgtbc_tCrzzWygcL86MQuO8PjRrXjHH-U<\/a>\u00a0the Herald-Tribune took an in-depth look at veterans who risked careers and reputations with marijuana to get relief from physical wounds, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.<\/p>\n<p>Many complained that legally prescribed medications such as opioids turned them into addicts, wrecked their health and made them suicidal.<\/p>\n<p>More than 2.5 million Americans are estimated to be state-registered medical marijuana patients, despite the fact that a Schedule 1 substance by definition has no medical benefits. Because cannabis is federally classified as a drug more dangerous than heroin and cocaine, the VA is prohibited from sponsoring or even recommending its use.<\/p>\n<p>During Congressional hearings earlier this month, the VA\u2019s Franklin opposed three legislative motions to improve access to cannabis. She warned that VA doctors could be prosecuted by the Drug Enforcement Administration if they made marijuana referrals for veterans, even in states where medical programs are legal.<\/p>\n<p>In Florida, some legislators continue to push back against a medical referendum that easily won public approval in 2016 with no strings attached. But when State Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, attempted to tweak the law again, angry veterans converged on Tallahassee for a heated showdown that forced Rodrigues to stand down \u2014 at least for now.<\/p>\n<p>Less than a month after Gov. Ron Desantis ended the state\u2019s ban on smokable marijuana, which the Legislature fought for two years, Rodrigues, chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, moved to cap marijuana\u2019s levels of THC \u2014 the weed\u2019s psychoactive ingredient \u2014 at 10 percent. Among those opposing his proposal was Kelly Wahlers Parrott, a former Army Blackhawk helicopter mechanic who was discharged in 2012 after being victimized by sexual assault.<\/p>\n<p>She was since diagnosed for PTSD, and says some of the 18 prescription drugs she was taking factored into her three suicide attempts. She credits marijuana for trimming her meds down to three prescriptions, for migraines. Today, Parrott is a nurse and vice president of the Tampa chapter of the nonprofit Weed for Warriors Project. She said the idea of a politician playing doctor with dosage levels left her and fellow veterans \u201cdevastated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a big factor in reducing the veterans suicide rate, and we don\u2019t like being sourced as criminals,\u201d Parrott says, \u201cwhich is essentially what this cap would do.\u201d Adding insult to injury, she says, was the proposed bill\u2019s pledge to mollify veterans by waiving the $75 fee for a medical marijuana card.<\/p>\n<p>More than two dozen veterans signed up to testify, she says, prompting the committee to limit comment to a mere 10 seconds apiece. The debate became so contentious, a committee chair summoned the sergeant at arms to prevent further escalation. The Senate rejected companion legislation, but Parrott expects the House to revive THC limits again next year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho are these people?\u201d wonders Iraq war veteran Jose Belen of Orlando. \u201cWho are (politicians) to tell patients what percentage of cannabis they should ingest? It\u2019s sickening, it\u2019s disgusting, and now we\u2019re having veterans committing suicide in VA parking lots, some of them in the waiting room. This is an open scream; this is a battle cry for help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Belen, who endured grueling opioid withdrawal pains before transitioning to cannabis, is part of a lawsuit challenging the Justice Department and the DEA over the constitutionality of keeping marijuana on Schedule 1. The suit is awaiting a verdict in the U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit in New York. Last month Belen testified at the National Cannabis Policy Summit live-streamed by C-SPAN in Washington, D.C., to denounce the \u201cnational tragedy\u201d of relying solely on prescription drugs that \u201cpush you closer to pulling the trigger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although three bills designed to strike marijuana from Schedule 1 are pending on Capitol Hill, Belen calls the slow pace of legislation inexcusable, given the stakes. \u201cCongress should be ashamed of itself,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018I needed somebody to talk to\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The VA\u2019s National Suicide Data Report, released in 2018 and covering the years 2005-2015, indicated that 3.8 of the daily suicides were committed by active-duty troops, or roughly 1,387 a year. Military suicide rates were twice that of the civilian population, with the highest rates reflected in the 18-34 age range. However, veterans 55 and older accounted for the highest percentage in 2015, at 58.1 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Ed Padilla, district veterans service officer for American Legion Kirby Post 24 in Bradenton and longtime mental health counselor, calls the suicide epidemic \u201cabsolutely cross-generational, all ethnic, socio-economic and educational categories, from officer to private.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Vietnam-era Army veteran says a lot of his demographic peers are beginning to come to mortal terms with wounds seen and unseen, like Agent Orange contamination. But one of his younger clients wondered aloud \u201cwhy is our generation such wussies, why are we wimping out? The World War II guys seem like they just sucked up it up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said no, they didn\u2019t suck it up,\u201d Padilla says. \u201cThey were limited in their ability to have access to somebody to vent to and hear their issues. War is war, whether you\u2019re a doughboy or you were in Afghanistan. Frankly, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s enough vets coming out and asking for help. I understand they\u2019re afraid they\u2019re going to be judged or ostracized or profiled as having a mental health issue and someone could take their guns away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s important get something like Buddy Up going. The idea isn\u2019t new, there\u2019s a number of these support groups popping up to get veterans together to talk about life and kindle that spirit of camaraderie. And we\u2019re talking about first responders, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Named for Johnny Lutz, who intentionally overdosed on VA-prescribed pills in 2013 after serving with the USMC in Afghanistan, the nonprofit Lutz Buddy Up group enjoyed a low-key rollout two weeks ago at the Goodwill Manasota Veterans Services office in Sarasota. Founded in Broward County five years ago by the late lance corporal\u2019s mother Janine, the networking concept now counts fledgling chapters in Wilmington and Bellingham, Massachusetts, with more to come.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not a PTSD group,\u201d Lutz told her audience. \u201cThis is for the sole purpose of building a local community.\u201d The idea, she said, is to convene for a monthly meal, meet strangers with shared military or first-responder experiences, and exchange phone numbers. If the group gets large enough, those connections will be compressed into a free app that can connect those in distress with a local fellow veteran with a phone call.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah Robinson, a career development facilitator with Goodwill Manasota\u2019s veterans program, says an app like that might\u2019ve come in handy a few years ago. Years ago, one of the retired Marine sergeant\u2019s unit subordinates left a message, saying he wanted to go fishing. Robinson didn\u2019t get back with him. The next day he was contacted by his buddy\u2019s widow, saying her husband had put a bullet in his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t there for him, and it really hit me hard,\u201d Robinson says. \u201cIt drove me down a path I didn\u2019t see coming.\u201d He began shutting other people out of his life, and getting back to a safe place was a struggle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember calling the VA hotline and they were telling me, \u2018Go to a hospital, go to a hospital,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cWell, I didn\u2019t need to be calmed down, I didn\u2019t need to go to a hospital. I needed somebody to talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Retrieved from: https:\/\/www.heraldtribune.com\/news\/20190527\/veteran-suicides-darken-memorial-day?fbclid=IwAR2InlG84rKiQ1nV22EhieLzG6GbNPPeQOCblBrviNux6ySAmYAfBNt555Q<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Veteran suicides darken Memorial Day Monday, May 27, 2019 By Billy Cox With veteran suicides far outpacing combat fatalities, many veterans want legal access to medical cannabis, but the VA is resisting because of federal restrictions on marijuana SARASOTA \u2014 Proclaimed in 1868 as a moment to honor those who &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cannabis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}