Give my veteran son access to legal and affordable cannabis, before I lose him to PTSD.

In the war in Afghanistan, 41 Australian soldiers were killed fighting. But at least 419 Australian soldiers have committed suicide after coming home to Australia. My army veteran son, David, was nearly one of those statistics.

Thankfully, we discovered a way to bring him back from the brink of his PTSD: homegrown cannabis with naturopathic supplements. But cannabis for this purpose is almost impossible to source legally, or affordably. That’s why we’re both calling for this safe, natural drug to be made legal.

I’m a retired drug cop, probably the last person you’d expect to be fighting for cannabis legalisation. But I’ve seen how this natural drug has helped pull my son out of the darkest places.

David did two tours in Afghanistan. Like so many veterans, when David came home he was broken by what he’d experienced. To deal with his crippling PTSD, he was put on hardcore pharmaceutical drugs. These treatments 'chemically lobotomise' our veterans and are known to increase the risk of depression and suicide, and they prevent talk therapy from working for our veterans. I saw this happen with David.

Faced with the prospect of losing David forever, we turned to cannabis. The results were incredible. One day he woke and up and it was like something had flicked a switch. It took me 42 years to realise this, but cannabis is a medicine.

Medicinal cannabis can help our veterans, but it is obscenely expensive at over $800 for only ten days treatment. The government simply will not pay for it despite repeated requests to the Department of Veterans Affairs. We’ve had to turn to the black market, just to keep my son alive.

We need a bigger solution to this problem, because it isn’t just veterans who experience PTSD and could be helped with natural cannabis. Ordinary, homegrown cannabis is inexpensive and could be saving lives right now.

In fact, homegrown safe cannabis is often more effective than the pharmaceutical version for treating PTSD, and my son is living proof of that.

Prohibition of cannabis drives the illicit drug trade and allows organised crime to flourish.  Also, research shows that the leading cause of drug deaths are opioids. The second leading cause are the “benzos”. It’s these drugs which are currently being given to our returned soldiers. It’s leading our veterans to develop debilitating addictions to these prescribed drugs, exacerbating depression and contributing to the suicide rate.

Not a single death has ever been attributed to overdose of cannabis. Meanwhile, in over 33 US states, their veterans have unfettered access to medicinal cannabis, and it is treated as an essential service amid cov19.

It's time our medical profession looked toward safe alternatives like cannabis. It’s time Prime Minister Scott Morrison acted to urgently stop this risk of suicide by our veterans.

Let’s show Scott Morrison he can reduce the soldier suicides now, simply by legalising homegrown cannabis for use as a life-saving medicine. Our soldiers and others with PTSD deserve our help.

Please, sign and share this petition and help this dad do all he can to support and care for his son.