AUSTIN - A group of Texas veterans is asking state lawmakers to let them use medical marijuana to treat conditions such as pain and PTSD.
Standing behind a podium stacked high with plastic bottles that once contained prescription pills, David Bass picked up one and unrolled a strip of paper marked with the name Eric Carrasco.
"He served in the United States Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom '07 to '09," read Bass. "His disability is PTSD and traumatic brain injury."
The conditions are normally treated with prescription drugs, which Bass said carry side effects at times as debilitating and life-threatening as the ailments they're meant to address. A U.S. Army veteran, Bass served from 1985 to 2006 and deployed overseas for Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.
"People's lives are at stake. My life was at stake," Bass told KVUE Wednesday at an event aimed to kick off Operation Trapped: A medical marijuana campaign aimed at veterans' issues backed by Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.
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