A email response from a friend

Awhile ago I got this email from a friend. It is about the Medical Marijuana problem with Iraq veterans. I thought you guys might like to read it. So here it is:

I just read the article you posted about medical marijuana and veterans and it definitely was intense. Its a shame that they are not getting taken care of. That particular guy says that there were no nightmares and his limbs were intact, which is very lucky. I have friends that came back from Iraq in the last year or so and it is scary to see the change. First off, only one of them has agreed to come out and interact with us again. My friend John is a Marine and was stationed mainly in Ramadi. John had always been an interesting character, but since Iraq he has lost all innocence. He's still very spontaneous and wacky, but in a very bitter way. He acts as he does because he's so angry that popped collars walk around thinking that they are kings, and John is not treated as a king coming back home. He won't talk about most of what happened over there, only few of the fonder memories. His best friend was basically blown up in front of him, leaving a wife and child in California.

One particular weekend, John and I went to CU to visit my now ex. Very stressful nights that weekend. John got shit ass drunk as quickly as possible and yelled at everyone on the streets for being able to enjoy their 20 something years. We got kicked out of two bars in half an hour, then John decided to disappear for the rest of the night. He’d come back in one hour, two hour, three hour intervals and take off again.

Talking to him on the ride there and back was ridiculously difficult. Making small talk was pointless, and talking about Iraq was too personal. Every time he came back home he pulled the same disappearing act, completely disregarding the fact that we were worried about him.It just broke my heart to see how badly he wished he was still naive. He was sent to Iraq for a second trip, and I have since lost contact with him or friends that would know where he was. That article totally hit a sore spot in my heart for these guys out there. In no way am I a supporter of the war or the military, but I completely support the individuals that decide to put themselves into the military. This line from the article, ‘My wife was the love of my life, the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but when I came back from Iraq, she was now a complete stranger to me, as I was to her.’ is an issue that most vets deal with, its really fucking sad.

Yep. Its insane how the government is creating a state of war that most people don’t want, then not supporting the troops as much as they need to be supported. We need this to stop.