Medical Marijuana has been the subject of debate for several years. Only recently have a few states chosen to make it legal as treatment for several medical conditions. In the past America has frowned upon the use of Marijuana, however after many years of research some government officials have come to realize the potential healing powers that Medical Marijuana possess over the conventional use of pharmaceutical drugs when treating PTSD or depression. .
In 1937 the United States Congress officially outlawed the use of marijuana for any citizen who did not pay the excise tax fee for certain approved medical and industrial uses after passing the Marijuana Tax Act. ("Public Broadcasting Service: Marijuana Tax Act. ", 2015).
Some Americans are still cautious of the use of Medical Marijuana because it is not regulated and it not legal to use federally in the United States as of now. In 2009 the first state to allow the use of cannabis as treatment for patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder was New Mexico. "Many PTSD patients report symptom reduction with cannabis, and a clinical trial needs to be done to see what proportion and what kind of PTSD patients benefit, with either cannabis or the main active ingredients of cannabis," said Dr. George Greer, New Mexico Legislative Health & Human Services Committee member. (Greer, 2014).
The Nebraska Department of Veteran Affairs defines Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as a psychiatric disorder that happens after the experience or seeing of a near death event similar to sexual or physical assault in adult or childhood, serious accidents, natural disasters, military combat, terrorist incidents or serious accidents. They state that most people that are survivors of this type of trauma will be normal again after a short time period. However, some survivors will have stress reactions that will not go way and they will not return to normal or may even get worse over time.