by Kristina Derro

Cooperative efforts between the VA and several local state courts have allowed for the implementation of a specialty court. These specialty courts around the state of Michigan (with many others in different states as well) give service members from World War II up through the recent Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts rehabilitation from drug addition, alcohol abuse, theft, vagrancy, and other nonviolent crimes that stem from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), or other war-related symptoms.

It is up to the local court, through its judges, staff, and probation department, to adjust their dockets to allow for the program. However, the treatment itself is paid for entirely by the VA. It is a unique way of handling non-violent crimes instead of the usual jail-time or probation. It allows the veteran to be treated for the underlying conditions leading to the commission of these crimes in the first instance.

by Jim Fausone

VA has issued a department directive allowing veterans to use marijuana in those states that have legalized the drug for medicinal purposes. The policy will not permit VA doctors to prescribe marijuana. But it will address the concern of many patients who use the drug that they could lose access to their prescription pain medication if caught in a drug screen.  Under department rules, veterans can be denied pain medications if they are found to be using illegal drugs. We have watched the legalization of marijuana process in Michigan and can tell you that many unforeseen circumstances will arise with the VA’s new rule. You can expect problems between different VA medical centers and VAROs.   To read more about the new policy, follow this link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/health/policy/24veterans.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1279924769-WEyHRXW17RJ2Rp1X3ByABg

A recent study found that Vietnam vets with penetrating head injuries could first exhibit seizures decades after the injury. The Journal Neurology published a report that found that among a group of 199 Vietnam veterans, about 13% developed post-traumatic epilepsy more than 14 years after they had suffered a penetrating head wound, such as a gunshot injury or shrapnel that entered brain tissue.  In at least one instance the onset was 35 years later.  The LA Times wrote about this study “It is unclear how the study relates to combatants returning from Iraq and Afghanistan today, the authors said. The Vietnam veterans in the study suffered from penetrating brain injuries, which are rarer in soldiers fighting in the current conflicts because helmets have improved. Today, closed-head injuries (where the brain is not penetrated) are more common, in part because of the helmet improvements and partly because of a change in the weaponry used in modern warfare.”  The VA would be well advised to take these results into account. This once again proves that VA, veterans and their advocates should not simply dismiss a medical nexus because of the passage of time. 

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-brain-epilepsy-20100720,0,1675292.story

It has been reported in the New York Times, VAWatchDog.com and NBC, that VA intends to issue new rules loosening the requirements for PTSD. VA is apparently evaluating essentially eliminating the requirement that veterans document specific events like bomb blasts, firefights or mortar attacks that might have caused PTSD. We know this as proving “a service stressor”.  This is particularly difficult for certain types of stressors that are not documented or reported. For example, sexual assault on women is not reported 75% of the time.  Veteran groups assert that the current rules discriminate against tens of thousands of service members — many of them women — who did not serve in combat roles but, nevertheless, suffered traumatic experiences.  The new rules, which we have not seen, reportedly say if a veteran can simply show that they served in a war zone and in a job consistent with the events that they say caused their conditions, that is sufficient.  Sounds too good to be true. We know VA employees will need retraining not to just deny.  How will VA define a “war zone”?  How does that help military sexual trauma (MST) and assault victims? But we will keep you posted if the new rules get issued.  If you have been denied in the past because of lack of stressor, it is time to reapply for benefits.  You can read the New York Times article at the link below.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/us/08vets.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=va%20ptsd&st=cse

The USA Today reports that a third of Americans are extremely patriotic.  I am not surprised, are you?  This is a great country and we know it.  There are problems but we have the freedoms and opportunities that most people in the world only dream of.  I hear from over 300 veterans a month by email.  They maybe frustrated about the government.  But they are still patriotic.  They still view their service as important.  Enjoy the 4th of July holiday and remember to show others you are an extremely proud American.  Read the USA Today poll by clicking on this link.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/07/poll-more-americans-‘extremely-patriotic/1?loc=interstitialskip