Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1488734
28 patient focus cannabis patient care | vol. 3 no. 4 cannapatientcare.com now we're looking at fentanyl and all these other drugs on the streets that veterans are dealing with. Then the VA said, 'We got to come back. We got to do something right.' So, they fi- nally started introducing holistic medicine." The challenge, as always, is to get the message out and heard by the right people. "If I could ever sit down with the secretary of the VA and show him Unprescribed," Ellmore said, "I would acknowledge that, following the opioid epidemic, you realized you made a mistake and took the drugs away. You're making the right path with introducing integrative medicine, but you're missing one key factor, and that's the endocannab- inoid system. You can't have a full, complete holistic circle if you don't include all the pieces, because you're only as strong as the weakest chain and you're missing that link. I do believe that cannabis is the missing link in the holistic healing that they're now providing for veterans." Progress has been slow yet positive. "I've seen policy in the VA change from no tolerance of cannabis use to some toler- ance," he said. "The film is called Unprescribed because you cannot be prescribed cannabis, it can only be recommended by your doctor. Though the VA still can't recommend it, vet- erans can actually talk about it now without the risk of losing their benefits. That was the number one concern of veterans, but they can engage with their VA doctors about it now." Ellmore's journey into learning more about veteran treat- ment options has also taken him beyond the nation's borders to learn how countries such as Canada incorporate cannabis and holistic medicine into treatment with their veterans. "With my nonprofit, The Unprescribed, we're not looking at just can- nabis, we're looking at psilocybin and other plant medicines that can give you that whole plant medicine. Integrative medi- cine is our final approach," he explained. "Canada is doing that, and I'm advocating to actually have the US follow that rule." After filming Unprescribed, Ellmore was invited by Fabian Henry, a veteran, advocate, and mentor to Ellmore, to docu- ment veterans and integrative medicine in Canada. "He drove me to advocate for the four pillars of healing that he talks about and encouraged me to make another film called Pre- scribed to document what they're doing up there." Prescribed provides a counterpoint to the stories in Unprescribed and follows the stories of veteran groups pro- viding each other support and healing. One major difference between the two films is that veterans in Canada can be pre- scribed cannabis. "I want the US to use Canada as the play- book in their example," Ellmore explained. "My end goal is that I want to see the VA actually prescribe cannabis to veter- ans for PTSD. That's the ultimate goal because that's exactly what they're doing in Canada." Plants Over Pills With the tagline for The Unprescribed nonprofit being "Plants Over Pills," Ellmore looks forward to and visualizes harmonized medicine. "There are wonderful things about pharmaceuticals," said Ellmore. "But as you've seen in the opioid crisis, there are so many terrible things in the pharmaceutical realm, and I'm biased on where I see them going with it. I'd love to advocate for them to be more supportive of cannabis, but what's that going to do? It's going to take away from all the growers and all the other people in the whole distribution chain and down to the patients. I'm a little scared about where the pharmaceutical companies fall into place." While pharmaceuticals have caused damage in the past and present, Ellmore doesn't completely exclude the role of gov- ernment regulation in medications for patient treatments. "I would like to see an equilibrium. I'd like to find a harmo- ny where pharmaceutical companies can participate, perhaps Steve Ellmore at a rally in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Steve Ellmore. An outdoor screening of Unprescribed for the Americans for Safe Access (ASA) Maryland chapter at MANA Supply Co. where a SpaceX rocket flew overhead "like the Star of Bethlehem," Ellmore said. Photo courtesy of Steve Ellmore.