<p>Obama being endorsed by Michael Moore is not something I would be extremely proud of.</p>
<p>Two comments from the posted linked articles worth noting:</p>
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<p>Don’t blame the “military” because vets choose to engage in illegal drug activity once they return to the states.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, it’s always someone/something else’s fault, isn’t it?</p>
<p>You’re missing the forest through the trees. Crimes or no crimes, it is the lapel-pin-wearing Hate America crowd’s fault that returning vets are not getting treatment.</p>
<p>mini - you think the VA will get more $$ under the democrats?</p>
<p>Thank you BZ. Unfortunately, your message will fall on many deaf ears. So many people want to blame others instead of holding the individual responsible.</p>
<p>I know from my life that Bullet will only take aspirin, b/c motrin is not allowed unless it is prescribed. Truth is he could take Motrin or Naproxen if he wanted because it is in my home for my medical reasons. Yet, he would never do it…just so you know the military does random drug testing, if your SS# falls in a certain range you are to report to give a urine sample that day. They are very serious at least in the AF about drug abuse.</p>
<p>For those returning with a drug addiction it is a problem, many are so young and joined for all of the wrong reasons (typically for employment or GI Bill) that they now have seen things that we cannot even imagine, they have endured fear on a daily basis that we can’t fathom. </p>
<p>Realize also that when in theatre they are rationed alcohol also, so if they are that tight on booze, why not drugs</p>
<p>The dems will cut the VA funding since the first thing they will hit is the DOD (history proves it)</p>
<p>“mini - you think the VA will get more $$ under the democrats?”</p>
<p>It’s a fair question, and I don’t know the answer. The folks I deal with do not get treatment from the VA. They are usually national guardspeople who live far from VA hospitals or services, and don’t stay around bases long enough (as long as 90 days) to qualify for their medical disabilities, and the medical determination officers on the bases are just overwhelmed. Every mental health and substance abuse-related group on the base to the north of me has a 6-8 week waiting list, but national guardspeople don’t access them in any case. What we would like to work out are “no wrong door” arrangements whereby vets could get the treatment they need whether in the civilian or military sectors. But neither the VA nor the National Guard nor the state’s mental health or substance abuse infrastructure has the resources to provide the services. </p>
<p>We know that, among civilians, between 30-50% of individuals with PTSD or TBI develop a substance abuse problem - we have great difficulty treating them. And treatment priority goes to low-income women with children who are on Medicaid; the Seattle needle exchange has a waiting list of about 400 people for treatment, but because they are usually single males, they don’t qualify for federal or state funding. When you couple this with some (number unknown) of the troops coming home with drug habits (which, with good reason, they would prefer not to reveal), we are just swamped. And it is only going to get worse.</p>
<p>“Realize also that when in theatre they are rationed alcohol also, so if they are that tight on booze, why not drugs.”</p>
<p>Because certain drugs enhance performance, and because many soldiers believe these drugs make them more alert and hence safer. I don’t play the blame game - they are there under very trying circumstances, and no individual knows how s/he will react until faced with it.</p>
<p>I do hold individuals responsible - George Bush and the AKLCS for starters. </p>
<p>Wish lapel pins worked.</p>
<p>Just because the military member wants to enhance their performance or feel tired, no doc is going to write a script for them. Remember the doc has a lot to lose and they are not about to give up their future as a doc for prescribing drugs</p>
<p>So you think Bush and Petraeus are responsible for prior guardsmen now living in the U.S. choosing to do illegal drugs?</p>
<p>That makes a lot of sense. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Oh yes, b&p - how could I forget about all the random drug testing that goes on in the military? Trying to blame the military or its leaders for drug use by vets is one of the lamest arguments among the bush bashers I’ve seen yet. And really shows the depth of their ignorance.</p>
<p>Now I’m not trying to defend Bush - I have my issues with the guy for sure, but he isn’t responsible for every American’s individual choices in life!</p>
<p>Let’s get real - your life is yours - yours to live as you see fit. If someone chooses to do drugs, they can’t blame the president for that! Sheesh!</p>
<p>You keep on assuming docs are writing the scripts. Why is that? The folks I have talked with are telling me they are being given the drugs by platoon leaders and sergeants. To what degree it is illicit, I honestly don’t know - I’m not there. All I know is that they are getting them in the course of carrying out their military duties.</p>
<p>“So you think Bush and Petraeus are responsible for prior guardsmen now living in the U.S. choosing to do illegal drugs.”</p>
<p>I don’t know why you are obsessed with the illegal drug story. It is a real story, but the majority of soldiers are NOT into illegal drugs by a long stretch. But huge proportions are coming home with PTSD and TBI, not getting treated, and we know that, among civilians, 30-50% of these will develop a substance-abuse disorder. But that may be the least of their problems. And the lapel-pin-wearing Hate America crowd isn’t helping matters.</p>
<p>I know that military docs stateside write all kinds of prescriptions that don’t make sense.
Antibiotics for every single cold for example.
Still I would agree that docs in general wouldn’t write scrip for hard drugs when suspicious of their use.
But in Vietnam drugs were pretty prevalent, I don’t see why Iraq would be different.
[20/20:</a> ABC News Uncovers Soldiers and Drugs Story - PTSD Combat : Winning the War Within](<a href=“http://ptsdcombat.blogspot.com/2007/11/2020-abc-news-uncovers-soldiers-and.html]20/20:”>20/20: ABC News Uncovers Soldiers and Drugs Story | PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within)</p>
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<p>Cutting DOD funding will not cut the VA. The Department of Veterans Affairs is not under the Department of Defense. The VA is its own cabinet-level department and has been since 1989.</p>
<p>Well then emerald you and I have never been stationed at the same base. Our flight docs, will say go and get robitussin, or claritin. My flight docs have never written meds unless they are truly needed…I must admit I would rather go and buy the med then wait for 1-2 hrs at the base clinic for my prescription # to be called!</p>
<p>Yes, the VA is under its own wing, I should have clarified, if they are more then happy to take away funding from the active duty, do you think they will save the VA?</p>
<p>Mini,
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<p>Now if I recall correctly from Bullet’s jt with the Army, a platoon leader is a lt. (@24 yrs old --who went through ROTC or WP and owe at least 5 yrs AD) handed the meds out? How did they get them? Now for the SGT, to be that rank you have to have @8 yrs in and would have to also get to the doc to agree. No doc is going to hand out bottles of pills, they now have everything computer generated, each time they meet with a patient everything is inputted into a computer, how can either one of these people get enough to score for their platoon, which I believe is about 50 peopls…that is a heck of a lot of pills!</p>
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<p>ek - where do you get your info?<br>
My family has been involved in Navy Medicine for about 25 years now & I could not disagree more. I would suggest that it is the civilian doctors, under pressure from paying customers isisting on going home with some sort of treatment, who are more inclined to write unnecessary prescriptions.</p>
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<p>It IS different now, particularly because of the frequent random drug testing program currently utilized by all branches of the military.</p>
<p>From my brother who is retired Airforce</p>
<p>Well I guess that is ALMOST as good as on-going, first-hand experience. :)</p>
<p>EK, as I stated before that I would rather go out and buy the med b/c it takes me an hr for my # to be called. The reason why is b/c I am stuck with retirees, which I will be soon, collecting all of their meds.(seriously it is bags of meds) I make sure that my appt is never between the 28th and the 5th of any month. Why? b/c retirement paychecks are sent out at the EOM, thus, the retirees come to the base and spend the day, they hit the docs, commissary, class 6 and the gas station. Note to all: that is also the day that there are no diapers or formula to be found since you can look at the retirees basket to see them loaded up with these items for their grandbabies, whereas, the AD member now must go off base and spend 2x as much on a limited pay</p>
<p>Just for further info, AD do not see the same docs as retirees. AT our base, retirees go to the family practioner, who is there fo only dependents and retirees.</p>
<p>I should have also added that my brother is a type who demands a prescription so that going to the dr isn’t a waste of time. 
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<p>I think the medical profession in general not just military writes wacky prescriptions.
Some docs want procedures and tests that aren’t going to change care and other docs don’t want to do tests that could improve treatment.
A lot seems to depend on how much time they want to take and what your ins coverage is.
We are changing ins again, because our prescription ins really 
what a pain.</p>