One Veterans Service Organization has stepped up to create a one-day virtual event about cannabis.
AMVETS will hold the Veterans Alternative Health Care Summit on Sunday, June 27. The purpose of the conference is to inform veterans and their families about the benefits of medical marijuana, AMVETS chief medical executive and retired Air Force nurse told CBS' Eye On Veterans.
Jackson, who manages AMVETS HEAL (Healthcare, Education, Advocacy, and Legislation) program said many veterans come to the program asking for holistic treatment options for their mental and physical challenges.
“As a clinician, as a nurse since 2003, I survived four deployments, three of those to combat and I came back with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” she said. “I wish someone had told me I had options besides the classic medications given to me.”
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Jackson stressed that medical marijuana is not used solely for post traumatic stress. It can be used for chronic pain, anxiety and depression, cancer, nausea, and vomiting.
“It’s just a matter of figuring out, as an informed person, what is best for me,” Jackson said. “This plant is truly a miracle plant to some.”
Navy veteran Wanda James and her husband are the first licensed Black cannabis dispensers in the country. They currently operate Simple Pure in Denver, Colorado.
James, who has been using cannabis since she was 16 said there are no wrong reasons when it comes to using it.
“Cannabis is not like alcohol. It will not make you do things that you would not normally do,” she said. “My cannabis use is probably why I got through my college career and even as an adult without having any negative alcohol scenarios.”
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James said that despite what some may say, cannabis is not addictive.
“Ten percent of the population is addicted to something. I do have an addiction to something and it is caffeine,” she said.
James said all the veterans Simply Pure treats have told her they don’t want to take “big pharma” drugs.
“Every single one of them has told me that cannabis is what makes them feel normal and lets them come out of their shell and talk to people and be a father, a mother, a friend,” she said. Thirty-six states now allow marijuana for medical use.
The virtual conference will be held from 9 a.m. To 6:30 p.m. on Sunday and is free for veterans. Non-veterans will be charged $22 to attend. To learn more or register, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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