Thor Benson / Cannabis News Box Contributor

One group that often doesn’t get enough attention when cannabis legalization is discussed is veterans. As someone who’s written about veterans and cannabis for years, I’ve personally talked to dozens of veterans who say medical cannabis helps them for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), chronic pain and more. A new survey from the veterans organization American Legion confirms most veterans want cannabis to be legalized.

The survey asked over 800 veterans and caregivers if they support medical cannabis research, and it found around 90 percent are in favor. In terms of legalizing medical cannabis, it found around 80 percent were in favor. For context, roughly 90 percent of Americans support legalizing medical cannabis, and roughly 64 percent support full legalization.

“The dirty secret is Veterans have been using cannabis to deal with their traumas of service forever,” Sean Kiernan, president of The Weed for Warriors Project, told Cannabis News Box. “What is new is the national discussion we are having that both serves to advance access but also destigmatizes those who choose to use cannabis for their traumas. That destigmatization is crucial as it not only emboldens and strengthen our support structures at home, but it also allows us to have a greater discussions free of prejudice and bias on what is not only a very personal choice, but a choice we all have a vested interest in seeing succeed.”

Legislation was almost passed that would have allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs to have doctors recommend cannabis to veterans in need in July, but it was killed by Republicans in Congress. This was seen as a major blow to activists who have been trying to get veterans access to cannabis for years. As it stands, a VA doctor can be fired for even mentioning cannabis as an option.

“The American Legion just released polling data it sponsored which shows results that should leave no room for doubt,” Kiernan said. “Veterans are using cannabis, upward of 80 percent are willing to go public with that support according to the polls just released by the Legion. At some point, this needs to be looked at as a constitutional right.”

Kiernan brings up an important point, because many veterans are shy about admitting they use cannabis or support cannabis use. Much of the veteran community is relatively conservative. The number of veterans who want to see cannabis legalized could be even higher than what we’re aware of.

Considering cannabis seems to work well for many veterans who aren’t responding to pharmaceuticals or don’t want to take highly addictive drugs, it seems allowing them to use cannabis could save many lives. More than 20 veterans commit suicide per day, and suicide often happens because of issues like PTSD or because of the drugs they’re taking.

At this point, the organization in charge of taking care of them can’t even give them the option of using a substance that could prevent these deaths.