Happy Veterans Day to all our Vets and Active Duty Service Members!
Each year on Veterans’ Day there’s an outpouring of support for the countless dedicated men and women who enter our military or National Guard.
We’d like to give a special holiday shout out to our friends, the veterans enjoying the 2nd Annual Twenty22Many Hero Celebration Dinner Dance Sunset Cruise organized by Twenty22Many.
Twenty22Many was founded with a mission to confront the veteran suicide crisis through common fellowship that encourages holistic healthcare solutions for their members. Patrick Seifert, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and founder of Twenty22Many could see a care delivery system with room for improvement: very few non-pharmaceutical options were being delivered, or even spoken about, to veterans seeking help from the VA.
The statistics on the serious issues veterans face are staggering. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, About 11% of the overall USA adult homeless population are veterans, and homelessness disproportionately affects African American or Hispanic vets.
Homelessness goes hand in hand with suicide, a complex issue influenced by a multitude of intersecting factors that increase or decrease risk and an epidemic in the veteran community.
Veterans have been using cannabis to treat their PTSD for decades, but until recently the prohibition of cannabis made it a crime. “It’s very positive to see laws on cannabis changing,” says Seifert. To help veterans access cannabis, which scientists and doctors hail as a component of PTSD treatment, Patrick and other veterans assisted in the drafting of Senate Bill 5073.
Bill 5073 added posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) as qualifying conditions to Washington State’s medical cannabis program. The bill was combined with Senate Bill 5052, signed into law by Governor Inslee in 2015. The primary sponsor of Senate Bill 5073 is Senator Steve Hobbs.
At Sugarleaf we’re proud to be one of the sponsors of The 2nd Annual Twenty22Many Hero Cruise.
“Suicide Prevention Programs’ public health approaches address risk factors associated with suicidal behavior while promoting protective factors that offset risk. Cannabis has been shown to be very helpful,” says Seifert. “We’re a charity, and sponsors like Sugarleaf make it possible for us to continue our work.”
As the sunset begins, we say “Thank you for your service” to Twenty22Many and wish for Safe Harbor for all our vets and active duty service members, wherever they may be.
