Educational content only. Mendry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on education. We do not diagnose, treat, recommend products, match veterans with clinicians, coordinate care, collect PHI, or provide legal/medical advice. Veterans should consult their VA care team and any state-licensed clinician before making health decisions.
Why this rewrite
To align with Mendry’s content policy and nonprofit mission, this article clarifies exactly what Mendry does—and does not do—regarding state-legal medical cannabis education for veterans living with chronic pain, PTSD, and chronic illness. It also explains, at a high level, how independent osteopathic physicians (DOs) may approach care within state law and how the idea of a “medical cannabis care manager” functions outside Mendry as a general clinic role. Our job is to make the landscape understandable—not to practice medicine, endorse products, or care programs.
What Mendry does
- Explains the landscape in plain language.
- How federal and state laws intersect, including why VA clinicians cannot prescribe or recommend cannabis even when veterans live in states with medical programs.
- What “education-only” means for a nonprofit like ours and how veterans can bring informed questions to their own clinicians.
- How federal and state laws intersect, including why VA clinicians cannot prescribe or recommend cannabis even when veterans live in states with medical programs.
- Publishes veteran-friendly learning materials.
- Intro guides on common indications discussed in the literature (e.g., neuropathic pain, sleep disruption).
- Safety literacy (impaired driving rules, mixing cannabinoids with sedatives/alcohol, storage around kids/pets).
- Conversation prompts veterans can use with their clinicians (VA or state-licensed), framed around functional goals—sleep continuity, activity tolerance, or nightmare frequency—rather than hype.
- Intro guides on common indications discussed in the literature (e.g., neuropathic pain, sleep disruption).
- Summarizes evidence and cautions.
- We outline where evidence is more substantial, where it is limited or negative (e.g., PTSD symptom treatment), and where risks such as cannabis use disorder (CUD) are salient—always with clear, neutral language.
- We encourage continuation of evidence-based trauma care if a veteran and their clinician also discuss cannabinoids within state law.
- We outline where evidence is more substantial, where it is limited or negative (e.g., PTSD symptom treatment), and where risks such as cannabis use disorder (CUD) are salient—always with clear, neutral language.
- Stays compliance-first.
- We keep PHI off our platform.
- We do not facilitate clinical contact or logistics.
- We use neutral educational tone—no product placement, no dosing directions.
- We keep PHI off our platform.
What Mendry does not do
- We do not recommend, prescribe, certify, or dispense cannabis, and we do not tell anyone what or how to dose.
- We do not run a provider directory, perform license verification on behalf of users, or match veterans with clinicians.
- We do not schedule appointments, coordinate care, or relay medical information between veterans and clinicians.
- We do not operate a “care manager” program for individuals, nor do we conduct human-subjects research or collect outcomes data.
- We do not claim that medical cannabis treats, cures, or prevents any disease.
- We do not request or store protected health information (PHI). If you choose to discuss your health with a clinician, do so through their secure systems—not through Mendry.
For veterans: how to use Mendry’s education-only materials
- Know the roles and limits. Your VA clinicians cannot recommend or prescribe cannabis. Many veterans still want to understand how state programs work; Mendry explains the basics so you can ask better questions in your appointments (VA or state-licensed).
- Define functional goals with your clinician. Instead of chasing “symptom zero,” talk about changes that matter day-to-day: minutes of uninterrupted sleep, fewer nightmare nights, better walking tolerance, or reduced pain interference during chores.
- Discuss safety early. Ask your clinician about driving rules, interactions with sedatives, and how the timing of any cannabinoid use could affect therapy (for example, exposure-based PTSD treatments).
- Stay watchful for CUD risk. If you notice escalating tolerance, difficulty cutting back, or using despite negative impacts on work, family, or mood, raise it with a clinician you trust. Mendry’s articles explain these red flags in plain language.
Necessary: Mendry cannot review your case, contact your doctor, or store your records. We exist to educate, not to manage care.
For osteopathic physicians (educational perspective, not medical direction)
Osteopathic physicians practicing within state law often emphasize whole-person care, conservative approaches, and collaboration with mental health and pain teams. Mendry’s clinician-facing summaries (non-CME, informational only) cover:
- Documentation themes: consent concepts, counseling on impairment, and storage safety.
- Functional framing: how clinicians commonly define “trial success” (e.g., targeted sleep improvements or pain interference reduction) rather than indefinite escalation.
- Integration reminders: avoiding cannabinoid timing that could interfere with trauma processing; monitoring cognition, mood, and daytime function; attending to medication interactions.
These are general education notes—not protocols or directives. Clinical decisions are the sole responsibility of licensed professionals and their patients.
About the “medical cannabis care manager” (concept only)
Some independent clinics (not Mendry) use staff roles informally called “medical cannabis care managers.” To avoid confusion:
- What the role means in general terms: A non-prescribing team member who focuses on patient education logistics (e.g., helping patients track sleep or pain interference between visits, reinforcing safety messages supplied by the clinician).
- Why it’s mentioned at all: Because many veterans are trying to understand how clinics organize follow-up and safety checks. Knowing the concept can make conversations with your own clinic smoother.
- What Mendry does here: We describe the idea and share generic tracking templates anyone can print for personal use (e.g., a weekly sleep diary).
- What Mendry does not do: We do not assign care managers to individuals, monitor anyone’s use, collect data, or interact with clinics.
Research: Mendry’s stance (education—not data collection)
High-quality research on veterans and cannabinoids matters. That work should be conducted by independent investigators and clinics with appropriate ethics review (IRB), data protection, and legal compliance.
- Mendry’s contribution: literacy. We explain what good research typically looks like (clear endpoints, bias controls, adverse-event reporting) so veterans and clinicians can critically read published studies.
- What we don’t do: We don’t run trials, collect participant data, or publish outcomes about site users. If we link to public research, it’s for reading, not for enrollment.
Safety and legal reminders (education only)
- Federal vs. state: Cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. VA clinicians cannot prescribe or recommend it, even if your state has a medical program.
- Impairment: Never drive or operate machinery while impaired. Local laws vary; ask your clinician and review your state’s rules.
- Polypharmacy caution: Combining cannabinoids with alcohol, benzodiazepines, sleep medications, or other sedatives can increase risk; discuss the full medication list with a clinician.
- Therapy timing: If you are in trauma-focused psychotherapy, ask whether and when cannabinoid use might interfere with therapeutic learning.
- Storage: Keep any cannabis products—where legal—locked and away from children, pets, and anyone for whom they’re not intended.
A forward-looking note that stays within our lane
The science around cannabinoids, pain, sleep, and trauma is evolving. Genetics and metabolism may one day inform how clinicians tailor care—but that’s future-facing research, not today’s standard. Mendry will keep translating new evidence into plain-language summaries and updating our safety literacy materials. We will not provide medical direction, product advice, or personalized care.
Quick policy checklist (so we’re crystal clear)
- ✅ Education-only nonprofit
- ✅ Plain-language guides, safety literacy, and conversation prompts
- ✅ Neutral summaries of public evidence and cautions
- ❌ No medical advice, no dosing, no recommendations or certifications
- ❌ No provider matching, scheduling, or coordination
- ❌ No PHI intake, storage, or transmission through Mendry
- ❌ No research enrollment or outcomes collection by Mendry
Closing
Mendry’s mission is to clarify, not to clinically manage. Veterans deserve transparent explanations of how state-legal medical cannabis intersects with VA care boundaries—and they deserve reminders about safety, evidence limits, and the importance of working with licensed clinicians. Osteopathic physicians and other state-licensed practitioners remain the clinical decision-makers; veterans remain in charge of their own health decisions. Mendry is here to keep the conversation clear, compliant, and veteran-first—nothing more, nothing less.