the other mike
Diamond Member
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states appreciate the tax revenue cannabis generates, and many people realize the weed-is-a-dangerous-drug mentality is outdated.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
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states appreciate the tax revenue cannabis generates, and many people realize the weed-is-a-dangerous-drug mentality is outdated.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