Today is the day we remember the veterans who served gallantly in our armed forces, fighting to preserve and defend our Constitution – a Constitution drafted on hemp paper by hemp farmers – that provides equality under the law to all mankind and acknowledges the natural right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
(Unless using cannabis makes you happy. Then we’ll take your right to liberty. Others may use alcohol to pursue happiness, and even though that is demonstrably harmful to society, they will be treated unequally under the law; they will maintain their liberty even as they endanger your life.)
Regardless of anyone’s feelings regarding the wisdom of the missions, those were not the concerns of the veteran; serving the country and following orders was. Whether right or wrong, war and conflict exist, and we must have an obedient military in order to protect our freedoms. They literally died so I could write a blog about changing marijuana laws and you could read it and together, we could peacefully change those laws.
But on this Veteran’s Day, I can’t help but think of the thousands of veterans coming home with severe physical injuries that could so benefit from the non-addictive pain relief of cannabis medicine. I think of the psychologically-scarred vets whose post-traumatic stress could be alleviated with cannabis medicine. I think of families whose lives have been forever altered, whose bank accounts are strained, who could benefit so much from an herbal alternative far cheaper than pharmaceuticals and requiring no health insurance.
If Congress won’t address ending federal marijuana penalties for all of us, perhaps Congress ought to just make an exception for veterans. If you serve two years, you aren’t prosecuted for personal possession under an ounce. Show your honorable discharge papers to the court and you’re free to go. Imagine what that might do for recruitment!
This Veteran’s Day, thank a vet and remember the ones who’ve passed. I’m remembering my grandfather, an Army sergeant in the Pacific theater in WWII. Thanks to the Hemp for Victory program, they had all the rope and canvas they needed to fight toward victory against the Japanese. I’m remembering my friend, a grunt in Vietnam. Thanks to medical marijuana, he can get to sleep without suffering flashbacks. I’m thinking of my brother-in-law, a copter mechanic in Afghanistan, who faces danger from an increasingly powerful enemy that is bankrolled by the illegal heroin trade. I’m thinking of all our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen facing mortal danger to secure the oil producing parts of the world while we refuse to grow hemp for biodiesel.
Let us help our veterans and end the war on marijuana that denies them medicine and places them in danger.
Marijuana law affects service persons and veterans in many ways. A marijuana use or arrest can disqualify you from service or from receiving a security clearance. Prohibition complicates foreign policy in countries like Afghanistan were there is little economic opportunity otherwise.
Servicemen and women who come home with amputations suffer from neuropathic pain which can be treated with cannabis. PSTD is just one of many psychological conditions that can be alleviated with medical marijuana.
I am a military veteran and I served this country so Americans can be free to live their own lives. People should be free to ingest what they choose. People should be free to grow their own sustenance, clothing, and medicine. Prohibition is anti-freedom and dare I say anti-American. Support veterans by supporting re-legalization.