Wow. Can only have one 9.0+ episode per season I suppose. Just when I feel that this show is especially intelligent and moving I'm let down the following week.
shareJudging by the number of soldiers, marines and navy guys I see coming out of the pot shops in San Diego, it seems pretty accurate that at least some guys with PTSD find value in pot.
shareActually you should do a search on pot use and ptsd. The use of cannabis does indeed have a profound effect on the disease and, in many cases, provides for a better quality of life.
That isn't to say it's a cure. It is more a treatment of some of the major symptoms and that distinction leads to some debate about whether that use as a coping mechanism is really drug abuse or not and whether it should ever be encouraged before other alternatives have been exhausted (this mostly comes down to your position on the broader legalization debate).
It mellows you out. It's not a cure, but it definitely helps.
shareExactly. The epi was about the characters taking steps towards forward movement and growth. Jimmy found a way to tell Gretchen that he loves her, Gretchen's beginning to make changes to make room for being in a committed relationship, and took a step towards that via 'no more SF', Lindsey told Paul what she needs to stay w/him (weariing her ugly bits on the outside)...and Edgar came to the realization that weed is the thing that helps w/his PTSD.
Edgar and weed are a continuation of last week's epi. i.e.: the convo he had with the fellow vet/tow truck driver and the guy's advice to find something that helps. Anything. As long as it works. Weed isn't a cure-all for Edgar's PTSD, but it's the thing right now that's giving him a sense of mastery over his symptoms, and even if it's not a cure-all (and it's not), for now it gives him hope and that's a step towards recovery. He's no longer despondent, suicidal, waiting for the VA or anyone else to fix him.
Did you not watch the part where he said, "well that's an illegal temporary fix"?
Furthermore,I suspect this site may not fully grasp the concept of signatures.
Many PTSD sufferers do find that it helps with their symptoms. This buffaloes me, because it makes me paranoid, but hey, whatever works!
http://veteransformedicalmarijuana.org/content/general-use-cannabis-ptsd-symptoms
As others said above, it isn't a cure-all, and I don't think the show portrayed it as such. The regrettable truth is, there IS no cure. Most people can only hope to get better... not really well again. Not like they were before.
But it made a big difference for the character, and he felt good about taking the reins in his own treatment. This effect was mildly exaggerated for comedic effect, surprisingly not much according to anecdotal reports from RL veterans.
http://www.thestranger.com/weed/2016/04/13/23950860/three-military-veterans-explain-what-weed-does-for-their-ptsd
"But... what about the relevant conundrum?"
You have to remember that Edgar was finding something 'that worked for him' - it just happens that the thing that works for him isn't a dog, and it isn't stabbing his wardrobe with a knife, it's marijuana. Far fetched as it may seem.
shareDoesn't cure it but it eases the pain and makes easier to go through each day.
shareEverybody is different, for Edgar pot has done the trick better than most of the meds he's taken.
shareThe real world is one giant turd and if people can find ways to relieve stress like Edgar does then more power to them but it doesn't always make everything rainbow and sunshines. I tried helping an old bum who looked like was asleep whilst standing, I gave him his hat back as it fell and the bugger tried to make trouble.
No wonder God (if he exists) gave up on his creation.