To the Editor:

New York is home to more than 900,000 veterans, many of who live with trauma, anxiety, and fear related to their service. Last Veterans Day, the state added trauma to the list of treatable ailments under the Compassionate Care Act, a huge step in the right direction for the struggling program.

That measure should have spelled relief for hundreds of thousands of veterans. Unfortunately, there are very few medical dispensaries in our huge state, and only a small fraction of those eligible to receive treatment have registered.

As many other states advance regulated cannabis as a viable holistic treatment, New York’s medical program in laughably stagnant in comparison. This is no laughing matter for the hundreds of thousands who are in desperate need of treatment.

The issues of veteran suicide, opioid abuse, addiction, and accidental death have become an epidemic in New York. There is extensive evidence that cannabinoids ease debilitating symptoms in the vast majority of trauma patients.

In addition, the holistic nature of the medicine can be an immeasurable improvement from frequently prescribed destructive opioids. States that have had a comprehensive medical marijuana program in effect for at least two years have seen a 40-percent reduction in opioid-related overdoses.

New York needed to act in November to add post-traumatic stress and chronic pain to the Compassionate Care Act. It needs to act now to expand the program to increase patient access for all veterans.

There are huge swaths of the state that are underserved by the state’s medical marijuana program. For example, Syracuse — a city of 145,000 — has as many dispensaries as Long Island, a dense suburb that is home to three million people. Many more dispensaries are needed before the program can show widespread meaningful results.

This should not be a politicized or a controversial issue. Everyone in the state who needs treatment should have access to it, without logistical or bureaucratic roadblocks.

Twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day in this country as they grapple with this nightmare of a mental-health problem. New York has taken a step in the right direction but it is time to expand. Our government must show compassion and expand the Compassionate Care Act to ensure New York veterans and others who need it can improve their access to treatment that has been proven effective.

Dan McSweeney

Former president

United War Veterans Council

Editor’s note: This letter was submitted through Fred Polsinelli who lobbies for medical marijuana and whose sister, Alisha Betti, a pharmacist, wrote a May 3 letter to us on the subject. We followed with a story, “Bills would bring cannabis to more patients, may help with opioid crisis,” and an editorial “Reefer Madness — Ignoring the benefits of medical marijuana.”