My name is Sgt. Sean Major and I was in the Marine Corps from 2009 to 2017. My reason behind enlisting I guarantee you would be a longer response than most veterans, so I’ll just say 9/11 had a huge impact on my life. The men in my bloodline have fought in Normandy and Iwo Jima. So many other small stories and little details, but I’ll leave you with a quote from my grandma “The most honorable thing a man can do is fight and die for his country”. I was enlisted from 2009 to 2017
I was always a cannabis consumer and at 15 years old I planted my first seed. A friend and I found it in a bag of some of Spokane’s finest. I read Jorge Cervantes’ grow book while I was going through the process in real time, and at 16 I knew Cannabis would always be a part of my life. I’ve always seen cannabis as a medicine and I’m grateful cannabis was so effective both before and after my time in service.
Cannabis helps me since I’ve sustained four service-connected Traumatic Brain Injuries. When I was a patient at The Wounded Warrior Battalion I was a robot. I was in so much pain. Anxiety so intense it was a rare sight to see me out of my room. Medication was prescribed at an unreal rate of fire and with 4 brain injuries; I was having a hard time juggling 15+ pills a day. Cannabis gave me hope and relief. I knew it was the route for me, so I got an accredited education in cannabis; and I’m the first person to do that in the Department of Defense. I earned 100% on the finals, and I’m the only one in the nation (to my knowledge) to earn a perfect score. I was the first Active duty service member with a physician’s recommendation for the use of cannabis in the military medical database. I am a certified Hydroponicist by way of Cal Poly Pomona and I am forever a student of the soil. My passion is building a temporary transitional housing program for newly released service members. The plan is to except the veteran into the program the day they separate from service. I will teach our veterans how to cultivate their own certified organic produce and organically cultivate cannabis while providing residence in the form of a tiny home community. Imagine a 20-acre farm with 22 veterans in 22 tiny homes learning how to be human again. It’s like the reverse boot camp.
The problems I face as a Vet trying to obtain cannabis is that I find it really difficult to find flower that I can enjoy at a price I can afford. I really do believe there is a huge difference in flower quality when it was grown using organic practices. I can tell if someone used nutrients from a bottle as soon as I take it in. I could definitely burn through an eighth a day and still be a functional member of society. The problem I’m running into, as a vet is the meds I require for relief needs to be “clean” and either I need to make more money or someone needs to treat Prop 215 like Prop 215 and not like Prop 64. It’s supposed to be about the patient, and that shouldn’t change even after the first of January.
My situation with the VA & Cannabis is a unique one because my recommendation for cannabis was transferred from the DOD to the VA, so everyone is cool about it. The conversation rarely comes up unless they are trying to offer me a new medication and then go to my current medications and the only see “Cannabis”. Puts a huge smile on my face. It’s like the little brother who won a bet with the older brother. I won. To any naysayers I would just smile at because I know I have an opportunity to open someone to the truth. I would tell them my story, and if you still believe cannabis is a harmful gateway drug that will make you try crack and talk to your dog then you are exactly who those commercials were aimed to target. Cannabis is a huge benefit in my life. I may find just as much relief in the garden growing cannabis as I do smoking it.
