Veterans put their lives on the line to defend our country, only to be ignored when they need help. Unprescribed, a documentary by Steve Ellmore, questions the use of opioids to address a host of problems related to PTSD. Tough, strong filmmaking while explaining what vets go through, Unprescribed feels a bit unfocused making a case for medicinal marijuana.
Ellmore interviews doctors, counselors and family members who are as passionate as he is about medicinal marijuana. Like Janel Ralph, executive director of CSC Health, who talks about the legal ins and outs of prescribing marijuana. Or Joey Gilbert, a former boxer and current lawyer who notes that because marijuana is illegal on a federal level, veterans risk losing their benefits for using it. Articulate and persuasive, Dr. Sue Sisley is the principal investigator of the only FDA-approved study for using pot to treat vets with combat-related PTSD.
Unprescribed uses outdated public service announcements and clips from movies like Reefer Madness and TV shows like Knight Rider to argue that laws governing marijuana need to be revised. More and more of the country already agrees with that position, so on some levels Ellmore is preaching to the choir.
Combat footage provided by some of the participants is forceful and graphic. Equally strong are interviews with veterans who have undergone multiple surgeries. Cases in which veterans succumb to addiction because they were prescribed opioids are infuriating. Ellmore cites a study that some 20 vets commit suicide every day, a damning commentary on our nation’s priorities.
Ellmore, an Air Force veteran, is credited with producing, directing, shooting, and co-editing Unprescribed. He makes the points he wants to make, but the documentary as a whole could have benefited from tighter focus—and perhaps a slightly different message. Veterans may not need marijuana as much as they need better overall care.
Joshua Frey, a Marine wounded at Fallujah, and Boone Cutler, wounded in Iraq and a Warfighter Rights leader, are solid advocates for medical marijuana. But the emotional heart of the documentary is Janine Lutz. Her son Jonas, wounded in Afghanistan, became addicted to opioids after he was prescribed Klonopin. Lutz got himself off drugs, only to receive another prescription after visiting the VA in 2013. He then committed suicide.
Janine Lutz formed a nonprofit in honor of her son, and has become a nationally recognized advocate for veterans. Her experiences, and more significantly her responses to the veteran health crisis will persuade viewers that something needs to be done now. If more people like Ms. Lutz get involved, veterans will at last start to receive the care they deserve.
Unprescribed screened at several festivals before the pandemic. It debuted on the Urbanflix streaming service in May, 2020. The documentary is also scheduled to screen virtually this summer at festivals in Hong Kong and Budapest. It’s available on DVD via Allegiance Films.
