Pop Culture Cannabis in music and media celebrity stories as well as holiday ideas and other culture cues. Pop Culture We Should Be Talking About Season 3 of Youre the Worst Rebecca Kelley Youre the Worst FXXs sleeper dramedy about an unabashedly selfish and unlikable couple in Los Angeles and the small circle of friends who put up with them is a critical darling that often takes an unflinching view of uncomfortable topics not commonly portrayed honestly onscreen. The series received accolades for its season 2 storyline involving a brutal daring depiction of lead character Gretchens struggles with clinical depression. This season the focus shiftsto a supporting character with debilitating PTSD who discovers that medical marijuana may provide the relief he desperately needs. Edgar an Iraq War veteran and inarguably the most decent person in the Youre the Worst universe lives at lead character Jimmys house for free in exchange for being Jimmys personal chef housekeeper errand boy and walking punchline. We spent the first two seasons watching Edgar find a job and attempt to tackle his PTSD through therapeutic means which includedjoining a local improv group where he met his sweet girlfriend named Dorothy. Unfortunatelyone of the side effects of the many prescriptions Edgar takes is a low sex drive impacting the intimacy between him and Dorothy. She asks whats wrong and he hides the problem from her opting instead to go off his meds in order to restore his libido and deepen his relationship. FX Productions Episode 5 of season 3 shadows a dayfrom Edgars perspective and we witness the full brunt of his PTSD symptoms when they arent being muted by medications. Its the blue-black abyss of either late night or early morning and he cant sleep. He goes for a shirtless run in the middle of the night stopping abruptly when he sees a vehicle screech to a halt. Panicked Edgarducks behind a row of parked cars his heavy breathing venting out the terror creeping through his body.The van approaches and an arm casually tosses a newspaper out onto a driveway. A routine trip to the grocery store devolves into a terrifying panic attack. We hear the ringing in Edgars ears as he whips around to survey the other shoppers his breaths growing sharp and shallowbefore he locks eyes with a woman wearing a hijab. He whispers to himself agitated. Customers start to notice his odd behavior. From Edgars perspective they stare wordlessly casting silent judgment upon him. In his world a pile of trash bags on a street corner could contain an IED. A strangers passing gaze could be a hostile targeting him for an attack. The sound of choppers overhead could signal death from above. FX Productions Later Edgar meets with the Chief of Medicine at the Veteran Affairs a visitthat took months of persistent effort to schedule.She sympathizes with the struggle he and other veterans go through to get the help they so desperately need and because she really likes Edgar she offers him 10 sessions in their virtual reality trainer. The simulations should help lessen the battlefield trauma veterans like Edgar has experienced. Edgar is thrilled but wonders if he would have been granted this opportunity had he not kept asking and asking. Dr. Higgins cuts him off abruptly reviewing his paperwork. He clarifies that hes taking 11 different prescription medications but recently stopped because they werent working for him. I dont like the side effects he explains. They make me feel blotchy. She changes her tone imploring him to get back on his medication before theyll find a fit for him in one of their therapeutic programs. The doctor may be in but she just snatched the football away from adamaged defeatedCharlie Brown. FX Productions In the next episode the crew (Gretchen Jimmy Lindsay and Edgar) embarks on a final Sunday Funday following cryptic clues to an exclusive speakeasy hidden away somewhere in the bowels of Los Angeles. Gretchen appeals to her PR client a hip hop artist named Sam Dresden for help with one of the clues. The group passes around Dresdens vape pen while hedeciphers a musical easter egg. Edgar tries to return the vape before they leave but Dresden encourages him to keep it. As the group moves from one checkpoint to the next Edgars demeanor visibly changes. Hes more relaxed happy even. By the time they hit Chinatown and Lindsay asks how hes doing he responds: I went off my meds because my dick didnt work and now Im totally freaked out by everything but this pot is mellowing me out sooooo thats an illegal temporary fix! So everything triggers you? Lindsay asks. Oh yeah Edgar responds exhaling a plume of vapor. Im worse than ever. Even like small noises or someone yelling will just send me right to She cuts him off smiling and implores him to turn around. He does and finally notices the ratatat of firecrackers being lit and punctuating the air behind him. Only this time it didnt seize his breath and send him spiraling into a panic-fueled misery. The cannabis calmed him made him feel at ease. For the first time in a long long while he felt normal again. FX Productions Eager for some immersion therapy the highlight of the episode comes when Edgar purchases two bags full of fireworks and encourages his friends to shoot them directly at him in an abandoned stretch of concrete. He takes a pull from the vape smiles puts on his Aviators and stretches the vape into the air declaring Do it! They comply laughing as streaks of smokey colorful sparks whizz by Edgar as he stands calm and confident soaking in an experience that would ordinarily be met with cripplingterror. FX Productions Edgars experience as a veteran struggling to receive adequate treatment for his PTSD is fictional but it represents the plight millions of Americans struggle with each day. Combat-related PTSD in U.S. military veterans since the Vietnam War is estimated to range from 2-17. According to the VA up to 20 of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans 10 of Gulf War veterans and 30 of Vietnam War veterans have experienced PTSD. Like Edgar veterans are often prescribed drugs to help treat their myriad symptoms but as Army first sergeant Gregory Westbrook explains they come with their own drawbacks. The drugs that they were giving them they couldnt get up in the mornings he says. Most of the guys werent the type of soldiers who had issues before Iraq or even in Iraq but they bring them back and put them on these drugs and theyre falling asleep in the chair. There was no way they could function especially in a civilian job. So maybe marijuana is an alternative. RELATED STORY Cannabis and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Veterans like Stephen Mandile often become dependent on their prescription medication to help manage their pain PTSD and host of other symptoms brought about by their time spent serving our country. And if the pills arent enough if they fail to adequately mute the pain thatMandile is forced to live with or if they make people like Edgar feel blotchy our veterans begin to feel desperate. Hollow. Clawing at an existence that doesnt feel like living at all but rather more like going through the motions as if theyre wading through colorless flavorless Jell-O. Edgar may just be a character but thousands of actual living breathing veterans like Mandile have successfully sought relief through medical marijuana. I was amazed at the painrelief I got from cannabis says Mandile.It helped with my migraines my anger my depression and my anxiousness. Within five months I was finished with most of my VA meds. But despite the promising effects medical marijuana can deliver the U.S. government has dragged its feet in addressing cannabiss efficacy in helping our veterans. After a five year stall the DEA has only recently finally approved a study examining the effects of cannabis on veterans with PTSD. A bill that would have allowed VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana to veteran patients in legal states had the amendment removed by House Republicans. And while medical marijuana is accessible in 25 states only a handfulspecify PTSD as a qualifying condition. Many veterans are left in a frustrating limbo between knowing cannabis can help alleviate their symptoms but not being able to legally procure it. RELATED STORY Lawmakers Face Off After House GOP Scraps Veterans Access Amendment Even our fictional Edgar runs into some problems during his next VA meeting. In season 3 episode 7 he speaks with an employee assigned to his case explaining that cannabis has really helped him with his symptoms and asking if theres a form he can fill out to ensure that medical marijuana wont interfere with his other benefits. The employee a stone-faced man seated behind a desk piled with papers and comically large stamps balks and responds: You just walked into a government building and asked if wed be cool with you taking illegal drugs. Maybe on your way home you can stop at the DMV and ask if theyll let you steal some cars. FX Productions When Edgar asks if hes unable to use medical marijuana even though its legal in the state the employee says I dont know. All I know is that he glances around before leaning in and whispering marijuana is a Schedule I narcotic. And youre asking me a government employee if you can take it. Lets call the police and ask them! He pantomimes picking up the phone. Hey police! Which federally illegal drugs can this guy take that will be cool with the VA? Edgar leaves frustrated. Later with the gang all gathered at a memorial service for Jimmys late father one of their friends whos a doctor dispenses this advice for our combat veteran: The doctor in me is like Youre the patient take what youve been prescribed ya dumb little bitch but the human in me is like smoke that ganj yo! Real talk? Its bull-worthy you cant get a pot card! You went to war and straight bezerkered on fools! Thats an actual reason! Like everyone at this party has a pot card for a dumb reason. Gretchen said she had insomnia Lindsay said her back hurt. Musician Ben Folds pauses his piano playing to chime in with his malady holding up his hands and saying Piano fingers. What reason did you use? Edgar asks the doctor. The doc shrugs andresponds I just said I saw a dog. At the end of the episode Edgar emerges triumphant from a mobile medical marijuana authorization trailer with his new authorization. He passes what he thinks is a fellow vet and stops to salute him. The man pulls his vest closed and waves him off inferring that hes just pretending so he can get approved for an authorization. Edgar isnt angry at the ruse; hes such a nice guy that he feels bad for nearly blowing the guys cover whispering Oh shit Im sorry before scurrying away. FX Productions Its an amusing but frustrating cap to Edgars journey from troubled combat veteran to medical marijuana patient. When the very program that was created to help people like Edgar systemically failsthemat every turn and make themfeel like some sort of criminal drug addict for turning to the only safe substance that brings themrelief whats the alternative? In Edgars case he risks compromising his benefits by becoming a legal medical marijuana patient but the risk is worth it to get his life back again. Edgars story arc may not resonate with viewers as strongly as Gretchens battle with depression did in season 2 but its just as powerful a story and one that needs to be told more often. Veterans struggles and the impact medical marijuana can have on their quality of life is a subject on which we should be repeatedly shining a bright harsh unflinching spotlight. Its simply the worst that a fledgling comedy on a cable television network was the first to do so. medical marijuanaptsdtvveterans Rebecca Kelley Rebecca is a senior editor at Leafly specializing in Cannabis 101 and lifestyle stories. More from Pop Culture Peter Tosh is Getting His Own Museum and Cannabis Brand 6 Questions I Have About HBOs Westworld After Watching It High That Weird Wild Stuff: Johnny Carsons Sly Late Night Cannabis Battle with NBC Prague Prepares for Cannafest One of Europes Biggest Cannabis Festivals Reading Goosebumps High: A Spooky Trip Down Memory Lane Related Articles Science amp; Tech How Cannabis Could Turn the Opioid Epidemic Around Health Cannabis and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Politics Majority of American Voters Supports Cannabis Legalization Survey Says Politics DEA Finally Approves Study on Cannabis and PTSD The post We Should Be Talking About Season 3 of Youre the Worst appeared first on Leafly. by Rebecca Kelley at Leafly