Veteran Uncovers Missing Link to Poly-trauma, Veteran Suicide
Filmmaker Launches Nonprofit to Address Veteran Suicide.
- (1888PressRelease) February 22, 2022 - WASHINGTON, D.C., - Veteran and military suicides have surpassed the number of American service members killed during the War on Terror by more than four times. One Veteran has discovered a solution to the problem by listening to other vets. Perhaps uncovering the missing link to reducing suicides.
Advancements in body armor, battlefield medicine, and combat evacuations have led to a dramatic increase in survival among the injured returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. These advances have resulted in a significant number returning with polytrauma, requiring multiple drugs for each symptom, leading many to consider suicide as a solution to their suffering.
"They had a lot of wounded and nobody prepared for that many wounded. So, we got a lot of drugs -- A Lot of Drugs -- Source: Boone Cutler, Unprescribed (2020)
While the U.S. government recognizes the suicide epidemic, and is working to reduce the opioid crisis, it fails to embrace plant-based medicine as an alternative to pharmaceuticals and the missing link to Veteran suicide.
Steve Ellmore is a U.S. Air Force Veteran who understands suicide first-hand following a near-fatal dose of sleeping pills while on active duty. So, when he discovered cannabis as a treatment for PTSD, he made it his mission to complete the critically-acclaimed documentary, Unprescribed.
Unprescribed, a self-produced independent film, conveys the stories of Veterans, spouses, and family members coping with war-related trauma and the loss of loved ones to suicide.
Released in 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Unprescribed saw a resurgence in viewership when it became available on Prime in September 2021. “As word got out about the film we started receiving offers of charitable support,” Ellmore said.
On Veterans Day 2021, Ellmore met Cherissa Jackson, Chief Medical Executive for AMVETS HEAL Program. She encouraged him to create a nonprofit to help direct increased public attention to the film as an effective strategy for suicide prevention.
“On the surface, Unprescribed is a film about medical marijuana, but at the heart, it’s really a film about trauma, PTSD, and Veteran suicide,” says Ellmore. “The Unprescribed Inc. was the next evolutionary step in my advocacy to reduce veteran suicide.”
The Unprescribed Inc. was founded on the 2nd anniversary of Unprescribed, which debuted at the Beloit International Film Festival on February 22, 2020. The date is significant as it brings awareness to the 22 Veterans who die by suicide each day.
About The Unprescribed Inc.
The Unprescribed Inc. is a diverse group of Veterans, health professionals, and subject matter experts with a shared vision of saving lives through engaging media. Their goal is to produce a 2-season docuseries about military trauma, PTSD, and Veteran suicide. Each episode will feature a specific individual, group or organization that have overcome life altering events and their respective journeys of healing.
Audiences can help by visiting www.theuprescribed.org to volunteer or contribute to the series production. A portion of revenue raised for each episode will go to a related charity.
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