Of the many wildly different groups of people that have found some aspect of medicinal relief through cannabis, an increasingly prominent and growing community who’ve become outspoken advocates about the relief they’ve received with cannabis are our nation’s heroes and those who fought for our freedoms, our brave veterans. While there’s no exact numbers published on how many veterans in Texas have discovered profoundly positive effects from cannabis against chronic pain, muscle and bone conditions or the terrifying condition of post-traumatic stress disorder obtained during their time serving in the United States Military or afterwards, the sheer number of veterans active in the cannabis advocacy scene in Texas speaks volumes on the plant’s effectiveness.
At the Public Health Committee hearing yesterday, it was no surprise whatsoever that a number of veterans representing nearly every branch of the Armed Forces either testified on behalf of House Bill 1365 or were present in noticeably numbers.
Blue Cord Farms is “a veteran-owned and veteran-operated management company for small farms” with a strong emphasis to the cannabis industry. Their CEO, US Army Corporal Robert Head was present throughout the majority of the hearings advocating in favor of the multitude of cannabis-related pieces of legislation surrounded by his fellow veterans. In order to have a better understanding of how important possibly having medical cannabis access instead of a laundry list of ineffective drugs from the VA could potentially be and the deep importance of these pieces of legislation for those who served, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Head.
(Head with his “Veteran Activist of the Year” trophy from Texas NORML.)
JK: Which branch did you serve, for how long were you considered active duty and what which ranks did you hold?
RH: I served in the Army and I was in the infantry. I served from January of 2002 to March 2007. I got out as an E4 (Corporal or Specialist).
JK: How have you, as well as your fellow veterans, found relief or otherwise benefited medically from cannabis?
RH: Veterans have different conditions for which they use cannabis. I can’t speak for their specifics on how it’s helped so many, but I can tell you that many vets use CBD or medical marijuana. They use it because it allows them to function throughout the day. The plant keeps them calm both at work and at home. Keeps pain and discomfort down from injuries and elevates the overall health of the vet. I would go as far as to say that the majority of the vets I served with have used some form of cannabis.
JK: How do you feel the hearings on HB 1365 went for swaying the opinions of those legislators on the committee who may hold opposing views?
RH: The hearing went very well. Many people showed up to testify in favor of the bill. No one from what I saw testified against it and the committee seemed very interested in the data that the doctors gave them. When the testimony of the veterans and families came around, I could tell that the committee could see the relationship between what the doctors stated and the families and veterans personal testimonies. That was really important. especially when it comes to debate on the floor.
JK: What kinds of people testified in favor of HB 1365 and did anyone in particular stand out? (Examples of kinds of people would be veterans, parents of children who benefit from CBD/THC, others who benefit from CBD/THC, anyone who may have spoken out against it, etc.)
RH: It was mostly veterans, families of children with autism, cancer patients, PTSD patients, homeless volunteers who discussed how cannabis can help the homeless. Lots of pain management doctors who discussed that their patients are switching to cannabis and it’s helping. So much so that everyday, they are told by another patient they are using cannabis.