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Group aims to help veterans access medical marijuana in Arizona

A new pre-roll marijuana product is now available for veterans at a Valley dispensary and part of the proceeds support the Veterans Cannabis Project.

A Valley organization is teaming up with the largest cannabis company in the nation to bring veterans a custom pre-roll marijuana product for the first time ever.

The goal is to show veterans suffering from things like PTSD and various physical ailments, cannabis can be an effective substitute for addictive pharmaceuticals.

“They tell you, oh, you’re this hero and you’re protecting freedom,” said veteran and retired state trooper Ross Read, recalling what he was told when he signed up for the service. But what they didn’t tell him?

“This is really going to mess you up, it hit me like a brick wall,” he said.

His story is one we’ve heard before. Veterans, who have experienced injuries and are dealing with PTSD, looking for answers surrounding how to treat their physical and emotional pain.

“I found that cannabis really helped with my symptoms, ailments and didn’t give me the side effects that pharmaceuticals have,” said veteran Tony Landry.

But now these veterans are connected with the Veterans Cannabis Project, an organization dedicated to supporting U.S. Military veterans and improving their quality of life through increased access to medical marijuana. 

The organization is partnering with Curaleaf, the largest cannabis company in the nation, to provide a new custom designed product. It’s available at the Curaleaf AZ Midtown dispensary.

“They are selling a pre-roll pack and some of the proceeds are going to go to our effort to legalize medical marijuana for veterans,” said Doug Distaso of Veterans Cannabis Project.

The goal is to help veterans to successfully substitute cannabis for other addictive prescriptions.

“I was a sufferer of traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said. “This lead me out of that.”

In Ross’ case, he was able to reduce his intake of opioids to the point where he doesn’t take any now.

“My wife is happy about it,” he said. “She’s starting to see her husband come back.”

There’s still more work to be done when it comes to getting veterans access to medical marijuana, but the Veterans Cannabis Project isn’t backing down.

“We’re working hard to normalize the laws between federal and state,” said Distaso. “We are asking veterans to sign up in hopes that Congress will see the need to provide those protections.”

The Veterans Cannabis Project pre-roll product was originally launched in Maryland and will eventually be available for purchase in the 33 states where medical cannabis is legal.

For more information, visit Veterans Cannabis Project and/or Arizona Curaleaf.

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