Free Weed For Veterans: Michigan Cannabis Businesses To Give Away Cannabis Products

The United States has been losing thousands of veterans a year to suicide. With post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affecting up to 20% of combat veterans and crises of unequaled proportions facing veterans including homelessness, lack of employment and medical care, the soaring suicide rate comes as no surprise.

Anton Harb Jr., an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, decided to address the staggering statistics from the VA's National Center for PTSD. In partnership with the NGO Hero Project USA, Harb will distribute free cannabis to veterans in need.

Though numerous authoritative studies have shown that cannabis can help treat PTSD, military veterans are unable to access medical marijuana (MMJ) via the VA due to its Schedule I classification. Luckily vets participating in state-legal MMJ programs will not be denied VA benefits.

Free Weed For Veterans

Now, as part of The Veteran Compassion Care Program, 25 veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries will receive free commercial marijuana products every two weeks, reported Michigan's MLive.

"I want to overproduce and undersell. With the interest that we're having, the reality is looking that way," Harb said. "I'd say 25 for proof of concept and to actually put this in place ... but we're being inundated with emails from brands that want to participate. I see this being a much larger thing. We want this to be a statewide program."

The program will launch this January in Michigan. Hero Project USA set up a network of authorized dispensaries, retail establishments, processors and farmers who are behind the effort.

Those interested will receive gift boxes of cannabis goods, including edibles, smokable flower, vaping supplies and other cannabis products biweekly.

Last year, Michigan's Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) announced its plans to fund two major medical cannabis research projects to the tune of $20 million with tax revenue from the state's recreational marijuana program.

Photo: Courtesy of Benjamin Faust on Unsplash