In States That Won’t Legalize Weed, Veterans Are Changing Minds

[the other mike]

Robert Head, a former infantryman who spent 29 months in Iraq, isn’t afraid of a fight. An administrative member of Texas Veterans for Medical Marijuana, Head testified for Texas House Bill 1365 in Austin last week. He and many other veterans were among the 60-plus group of people testifying for the bill, which would allow for medical cannabis in Texas.

So far, 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis. Early leaders in the movement, such as California and Oregon, are fairly liberal, but many of the recent states to get on board tend to be more conservative. In 2018, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Utah all passed laws legalizing medical use of the drug. In 2017, West Virginia voted in favor. All four states have Republican governors and voted overwhelmingly for President Trump in 2016.

These states appreciate the tax revenue cannabis generates, and many people realize the weed-is-a-dangerous-drug mentality is outdated. But, in large part, many conservative states are finally coming around to medical cannabis because veterans have started demanding change. Service members like Head often come home from war zones with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, and it’s beginning to look like politicians might be willing to pay attention to those issues—even if that means finally accepting progressive policies on weed.

“Veterans fought for everyday freedoms,” says Travis Craig, who used to fly a Chinook helicopter for the Army and now owns and operates The Healing Clinic, a dispensary in Oklahoma. Craig believes veterans help fight the stigma against weed in communities that used to view it as a gateway drug. “People know they have problems. If they see that medical cannabis is helping with those problems, I think that’s going to help.”

Weed Legalization Is Getting a Huge Push From Veterans

 

[Crixus]

Robert Head, a former infantryman who spent 29 months in Iraq, isn’t afraid of a fight. An administrative member of Texas Veterans for Medical Marijuana, Head testified for Texas House Bill 1365 in Austin last week. He and many other veterans were among the 60-plus group of people testifying for the bill, which would allow for medical cannabis in Texas.

So far, 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis. Early leaders in the movement, such as California and Oregon, are fairly liberal, but many of the recent states to get on board tend to be more conservative. In 2018, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Utah all passed laws legalizing medical use of the drug. In 2017, West Virginia voted in favor. All four states have Republican governors and voted overwhelmingly for President Trump in 2016.

These states appreciate the tax revenue cannabis generates, and many people realize the weed-is-a-dangerous-drug mentality is outdated. But, in large part, many conservative states are finally coming around to medical cannabis because veterans have started demanding change. Service members like Head often come home from war zones with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, and it’s beginning to look like politicians might be willing to pay attention to those issues—even if that means finally accepting progressive policies on weed.

“Veterans fought for everyday freedoms,” says Travis Craig, who used to fly a Chinook helicopter for the Army and now owns and operates The Healing Clinic, a dispensary in Oklahoma. Craig believes veterans help fight the stigma against weed in communities that used to view it as a gateway drug. “People know they have problems. If they see that medical cannabis is helping with those problems, I think that’s going to help.”

Weed Legalization Is Getting a Huge Push From Veterans

Hmm, an owner of a pot clinic pushing for legalization of pot. Now that’s what I call unusual. Must really mean something.

 

[petro]

I find it hilarious that the nanny states that protect us from the evils of weed sponsor state lotteries as a tax on the poor.

 

[sparky]

what you're not hearing about is how huge an industry this is, and who's vying for position in it......~S~

 

[Crixus]

I find it hilarious that the nanny states that protect us from the evils of weed sponsor state lotteries as a tax on the poor.

Bullshit.

 

[Crixus]

what you're not hearing about is how huge an industry this is, and who's vying for position in it......~S~

Big weed is the new big tobacco. It’s nothing but a business now.

 

[Correll]

Robert Head, a former infantryman who spent 29 months in Iraq, isn’t afraid of a fight. An administrative member of Texas Veterans for Medical Marijuana, Head testified for Texas House Bill 1365 in Austin last week. He and many other veterans were among the 60-plus group of people testifying for the bill, which would allow for medical cannabis in Texas.

So far, 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis. Early leaders in the movement, such as California and Oregon, are fairly liberal, but many of the recent states to get on board tend to be more conservative. In 2018, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Utah all passed laws legalizing medical use of the drug. In 2017, West Virginia voted in favor. All four states have Republican governors and voted overwhelmingly for President Trump in 2016.

These states appreciate the tax revenue cannabis generates, and many people realize the weed-is-a-dangerous-drug mentality is outdated. But, in large part, many conservative states are finally coming around to medical cannabis because veterans have started demanding change. Service members like Head often come home from war zones with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, and it’s beginning to look like politicians might be willing to pay attention to those issues—even if that means finally accepting progressive policies on weed.

“Veterans fought for everyday freedoms,” says Travis Craig, who used to fly a Chinook helicopter for the Army and now owns and operates The Healing Clinic, a dispensary in Oklahoma. Craig believes veterans help fight the stigma against weed in communities that used to view it as a gateway drug. “People know they have problems. If they see that medical cannabis is helping with those problems, I think that’s going to help.”

Weed Legalization Is Getting a Huge Push From Veterans

Wow. This is great. Legalize pot. What a noble battle.

 

[occupied]

Everyone who wants to smoke pot already smokes pot. Criminalization has practically no deterrent effect and makes less sense as time goes on.

 

[petro]

I find it hilarious that the nanny states that protect us from the evils of weed sponsor state lotteries as a tax on the poor.

Bullshit.

How so?
The government has taken an interest in protecting the citizen from an evil as weed while encouraging another destructive behavior gambling, and making revenue off it.
Bullshit, isn't exactly an argument.
Got an actual thought?

 

[iceberg]

what you're not hearing about is how huge an industry this is, and who's vying for position in it......~S~

Big weed is the new big tobacco. It’s nothing but a business now.

well it pretty much has always been "big business". however with it legal in various states, drug trafficking has gone WAY down as a result. it's also a "voluntary" tax. don't like weed, don't smoke it. i put that up there with "don't like what's on tv, change it".

alcohol can and will kill you. never heard of someone overdoing weed that had the motivation to get up, much less get up and cause trouble.

both sides seem to love to tell the other side how to live when it's their own values "in question".

 

[the other mike]

“Are we going to be illegally healthy or legally unhealthy?” he asks. He says that every veteran is coping with their trauma in their own way. “They’re all dealing with these different types of pains, and they’re all on a cocktail of many different types of pills and therapies, and it’s making them worse,” he says. The thing they have in common, though, is that they want a better solution.

 

[iceberg]

“Are we going to be illegally healthy or legally unhealthy?” he asks. He says that every veteran is coping with their trauma in their own way. “They’re all dealing with these different types of pains, and they’re all on a cocktail of many different types of pills and therapies, and it’s making them worse,” he says. The thing they have in common, though, is that they want a better solution.

yea, most of those sitting in judgement are able to do so because of these soldiers. we need to judge less, listen more.

 

[Crixus]

I find it hilarious that the nanny states that protect us from the evils of weed sponsor state lotteries as a tax on the poor.

Bullshit.

How so?
The government has taken an interest in protecting the citizen from an evil as weed while encouraging another destructive behavior gambling, and making revenue off it.
Bullshit, isn't exactly an argument.
Got an actual thought?

Yup. Bullshit. No one forces poor people to buy lotto tickets, yet they be Ofer from other people buying them.

 

[Seawytch]

Total non sequitur, but most of the cannabis clubs here in the bay area offer veterans a discount, even for recreational use.

It's nice...offsets the ridiculous taxes they add on.

 

[NotYourBody]

what you're not hearing about is how huge an industry this is, and who's vying for position in it......~S~

I expect the tobacco companies to insert their greedy fingers right into the middle of the marijuana industry.

 

[the other mike]

Total non sequitur, but most of the cannabis clubs here in the bay area offer veterans a discount, even for recreational use.

It's nice...offsets the ridiculous taxes they add on.

If the feds keep it illegal the VA can't prescribe it.
That's the biggest hurdle right now.

 

[NotYourBody]

Everyone who wants to smoke pot already smokes pot. Criminalization has practically no deterrent effect and makes less sense as time goes on.

Marijuana has been widely available in California for 20+ years. We legalized medical MJ in 1996.

I don't know of any cases of reefer madness so far.

 

[Moonglow]

Total non sequitur, but most of the cannabis clubs here in the bay area offer veterans a discount, even for recreational use.

It's nice...offsets the ridiculous taxes they add on.

If the feds keep it illegal the VA can't prescribe it.
That's the biggest hurdle right now.

And our pain meds are cut off because of positive urine tests that the VA does every year you have a lab done..

 

[Seawytch]

what you're not hearing about is how huge an industry this is, and who's vying for position in it......~S~

Big weed is the new big tobacco. It’s nothing but a business now.

So? That's capitalism. It's got its good and bad just like socialism.

 

[Crixus]

what you're not hearing about is how huge an industry this is, and who's vying for position in it......~S~

Big weed is the new big tobacco. It’s nothing but a business now.

well it pretty much has always been "big business". however with it legal in various states, drug trafficking has gone WAY down as a result. it's also a "voluntary" tax. don't like weed, don't smoke it. i put that up there with "don't like what's on tv, change it".

alcohol can and will kill you. never heard of someone overdoing weed that had the motivation to get up, much less get up and cause trouble.

both sides seem to love to tell the other side how to live when it's their own values "in question".

If you smoke pot you will be a burden on tax payers when you get diagnosed with COPD. That aside, 20 years from now some health condition will be blamed on weed and what happened to Phillip Morris will happen to big weed. Ain’t about values at all.