Combat Veteran Marine Finds Hope and Healing Through Medical Cannabis

Pictured: Dan Wolter with one of his young daughters.

On the outside, Dan Wolter looks like an everyday husband and father. He, his wife and their three young girls (a 7, 5 and a 1-year-old) live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.

What lies beneath the Palatine native’s tougher exterior is a past filled with heavy combat, the loss of 30 comrades during two separate deployments as a U.S. Marine to Afghanistan (2005) and Iraq (2007), and what he poignantly describes as, ‘ghosts from the past’.

“After I was diagnosed with PTSD, I utilized the Veteran’s Administration (VA) and was put on a lot of prescriptions to deal with the aftermath of what I had seen when I was deployed. As a result of those experiences, my entire world, including my marriage began to suffer,” Wolter said. “At one point, I realized I was prescribed to take pills to wake up and to go to sleep, as well as for a number of other ailments.”

After meeting individuals with varying medical conditions who’d been approved for a medical cannabis card, Wolter took the initial steps to apply for his own.

PTSD is one of the more than 40 medical conditions approved by the state of Illinois for medical cannabis use.

“This spring I began utilizing oil concentrates, vapor, waxes and medibles (all different forms of medical cannabis). Since then, I have gone off all prescriptions, and experienced none of the side effects I was dealing with up until this point,” Wolter said.

Wolter adds that since he began using medical cannabis, he has had no dissociative episodes, and decreased headaches, nightmares and effects from Intermittent Explosive Disorder; all normal and expected symptoms of PTSD. He said previously, the medications he was taking made him feel sleepy and disoriented.

“What I liked at the start when I was considering medical cannabis - which I know some people believe is an unconventional treatment method - was the fact that it is organic and natural; in ways, it creates a connection between us and the earth,” Wolter said.

In addition to the psychological effects of PTSD, Wolter says medical cannabis has also helped him deal with pain, insomnia, anxiety and depression.

There are several dispensaries around the Chicagoland suburbs, many of which Wolter toured before choosing Nature’s Care in Rolling Meadows.

“The people that work at Nature’s Care are extremely warm and accommodating; one of things I liked the most was how knowledgeable they are on how the different parts of the cannabis plant each have unique qualities that can help me with the many issues I have been dealing with,” Wolter said.

He describes the medical cannabis industry as a ‘diamond in the rough’.

“It’s [the industry] doing such great things for so many people; the challenge now is to get the word out about it so as many individuals as possible can be helped,” Wolter said. “While there is a stigma for recreational use due to it being illegal, medical cannabis is legal, and it is creating a light at the end of the tunnel and true relief for people like me and others, who are suffering with dozens of other medical conditions.”

Wolter says he is hopeful that people will begin to open their minds to this type of treatment as an alternative, when traditional medicine and prescriptions are unable to help them.

“The research is out there to be found and I encourage everyone to gain as much knowledge as possible. Nature’s Care coming into my life has given me hope; an average of 22 veterans kill themselves every day, and I wake up every day staring that demon right in the face,” Wolter said.

He says his ammunition is continued treatment through the VA, along with support from his family and friends, as well as medical cannabis.

“Now, I know I can make it,” he said.

If you or someone you know has one of the more than 40 approved medical conditions, you can apply for a medical cannabis card through the State of Illinois by visiting their website for more information.

ABOUT NATURE'S CARE COMPANY

Nature's Care is a medical cannabis dispensary in Rolling Meadows. Education for anyone interested in learning more about the state of Illinois' medical cannabis program is provided at monthly outreach events presented by Nature's Care that can be found by clicking this link: https://www.facebook.com/pg/naturescarecompany/events/.

A variety of different forms of medical cannabis are available, and patients are provided care possible in a spa-type environment. For more information, or for free medical cannabis card application support and assistance, please visit www.naturescarecompany.com or call Nature’s Care at 847-759-4955.