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Many Texas veterans who have served our country all the way back to the Korean War can testify to the effectiveness of marijuana for symptoms related to PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), chronic pain and other service connected disabilities. Texas veterans are leading the fight for a comprehensive medical marijuana program in Texas. We hope you will join us as we prepare to advocate for medical marijuana.
Please contact me at dave@texasnorml.org to see how you can be involved in our movement to reform marijuana laws in Texas.
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Recap of Past Veterans Events:
Operation Trapped – Leading up to and during the 2017 Legislative Session ~ Many veterans in Texas want a safer alternative to harmful prescription medicine, which can lead to addiction to narcotics and an alarming number of overdose deaths every year. Thousands of Texas veterans who take cannabis to relieve the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), chronic pain, or other service-related injuries are treated like a criminal in Texas. To amplify our voices, we created #OperationTrapped. We had over 400 Texas Veterans send us their perscription bottles with service related information and displayed them in our state Capitol. We also had over 1,400 Texas Veterans co-sign a letter from our Director of Veteran Outreach, which we delivered to the Governor’s office.
Texas NORML Veterans Conference – Saturday, October 15th 2016 ~ Please save the date. More Information to come soon. Follow the event page HERE.
3rd Annual Texas NORML Puff N Putt – Spring Fling – Benefit – Saturday, March 26th, 2016 ~ Thank you to all of our veterans and citizens who support veterans for attending our Putt n Puff event. The event was a huge success! Isn’t it amazing how hundreds of people can come together and have peaceful, positive fellowship in a 420 friendly environment?! Our opponents needed to be there with us at Willie’s to witness our experience of peace and fellowship instead of their nightmare of reefer madness. They believe the lies – we demonstrate the truth. The money raised at this event will finance our Texas NORML Veterans Conference at our Capitol this October, our Veterans Lobby Day at the Capitol during the 2017 legislative session and other veterans initiatives. Our Texas veterans are leading the fight for medical marijuana in Texas. With your continued support, we will not only bring a medical marijuana program to our state that will benefit many thousands of veterans and patients, we will legalize marijuana in Texas so that no Texas citizen is ever again arrested for choosing to use cannabis. Thank you for everything you are doing to support our fight for justice in Texas.
Statewide Veteran Conference Call – Operation Trapped – Saturday, February 20th, 2016 ~ We held a statewide conference call to discuss Operation Trapped and update Texas Veterans on the current election cycle and upcoming legislative strategy. The conference call had 43 participants.
Veterans and Patients Alliance Meeting – February 18th, 2016 ~ Veterans, patients and supporters gathered at the monthly Waco NORML meeting on Feb 18 to hear our Director of Veterans Outreach, David Bass, discuss Operation Trapped. Participants were very interested to know how they can be involved in advocating for marijuana law reform during the 2017 Texas legislative session.
Veterans and Patients Alliance Meeting – January, 21st, 2016 ~ Our first NORML Veterans and Patients Alliance meeting in the Fort Hood community last night. We had new vets who attended a legalization meeting for the first time. Clif Deuvall drove down from Waco and Arthur Mayer drove from DFW to be with us. My goal is to get these alliance meetings organized in other communities in Texas where there is no formal legalization organization.
Ride for the Wreaths: Wreath Preparation Event for Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery – November 21st, 2015 ~ Our veterans in the Fort Hood community were proud to participate in preparing wreaths for every grave at our Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery on November 21. Members of the Fort Hood community prepared over 5,000 wreaths to honor our brave veterans. The wreaths were placed on the graves on November 28. Texas NORML is proud to support our Texas veterans.
Austin Veterans Day Parade and Operation Trapped Press Conference – November 11th, 2015 ~ We participated in the march, were given a very enthusiastic announcement at the review stand, many people wanted to take pictures with the participants and banners. Our marchers included many veterans, family of veterans and supporters. We then gathered at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial to prepare for the press conference. You can see the press conference here. Check out more pictures and links to new coverage here. The press conference went off without a hitch and the bottle visual was very strong. A veteran envisioned this event, veterans participated in this event and veterans led the press conference. Texas Veterans truly lead from the front!
Women Grow November Meeting – November 5th, 2015 ~ David bass, Director of Veteran Outreach was invited to speak on a panel discussion to celebrate Veteran’s Day and focus on PTSD and the success of cannabis as treatment.
Drug Impact Conference – July 27-30, 2015 ~ Texas NORML was invited to be the keynote speaker at this continued education conference for law enforcement, probation and correctional officers. Texas NORML Director of Veteran Outreach was one of our 4 speakers at the event.
Veterans Lobby Day Press Conference – April 22nd, 2015 ~ Texas veterans and their families assembled at the State Capitol to advocate for legislation that will bring safe and legal access to medical cannabis (HB3785/SB1839). Every day, Texas veterans suffer from debilitating conditions like PTSD and chronic severe pain, but antiquated laws stand between these patients and the medicine that best fits their needs. Watch the press conference here.
Education Exhibit – March 2015 ~ Texas NORM L coordinated an educational exhibit in the hearing hallway at the Capitol Building. One of the graphics focused on veterans issues.
HB 3785 and SB 1839 – Medical Marijuana Press Conference – March 17th, 2015 ~ Texas NORML participated in this historic press conference discussing Medical Marijuana in Texas with out Director of Veteran Outreach representing Texas Veterans. You can watch the full press conference here. Check out the pictures and find news coverage links here.
Texas NORML PTSD and Medical Marijuana Seminar – February 7, 2014 ~ Texas NORML was proud to present our first seminar on PTSD and Medical Marijuana in Killeen, TX, outside of Ft Hood. Approximately 120 people attended this event, at times it was standing room only. If you would like to watch the event, you can do so here. The seminar will start right after the 10 minute mark. Photos can be found here.
Friends of Central Texas State Veterans Cemetary (FCTSVC) – November 22, 2014 ~This is a yearly event in the Fort Hood community to honor our Texas veterans. The wreaths were laid on Nov 29. Watch the video of this event here. More photos here.
Texas Monthly Talks: Can Marijuana Help Veterans With PTSD? – June 2014 ~ For many military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, their only relief comes from a drug that is illegal in Texas: marijuana. Can marijuana help veterans with PTSD? Should Texas legalize the drug? William Martin, director of the Drug Policy Program, will address these questions at a Texas Monthly Talks public forum, following up on his story “War Without End,” published in the June 2014 issue of Texas Monthly. Special guest – Texas NORM,L Director of Patient Outreach, David Bass. Watch the full video here.
Texas NORML Veterans’ Conference 2014 – July 19th, 2014 ~ Texas NORML hosted our First Annual Veteran’s Conference at Carver Library on July 19th. We discussed cannabis as an effective treatment for PTSD, current Veterans Administration policies in Texas, our statewide strategy for the 2015 session of the Texas legislature and many other topics important to veterans.One of the most incredible aspects of the conference was that we had veterans in attendance going all the way back to the Korean War. To have Korean War veterans with us was a tremendous honor. Our attendees included veterans from the Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Just Cause in Panama, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle, illuminating the way for the whole nation. If veterans can achieve awareness, transformation, understanding and peace, they can share with the rest of society the realities of war. And they can teach us how to make peace with ourselves and each other, so we never have to use violence to resolve conflicts again …” Thich Nhat Hahn
From Texas NORML’s Director of Veteran Outreach ~
My first experience with Texas NORML was when I attended a meeting in Austin on December 5, 2012.
While I was at the Texas NORML table getting information, a man wearing a Vietnam Veteran’s hat entered the meeting place. He had a service dog. This veteran told the Texas NORML officer working at the table that he suffered from PTSD and chronic pain and the Veterans Administration hospital had recently cut him off from his medications because he had tested positive for THC on a urinalysis. I was shocked. This veteran said he used marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD and chronic pain and he wondered what Texas NORML could do help him convince the VA that marijuana is effective for PTSD and chronic pain. I was shocked because I had never imagined that the VA would be so callous to a veteran who had been severely injured in service to our country.
The reason I was at the meeting was because I too had discovered that marijuana helped my PTSD and chronic pain. Since that night, I have met many Texas veterans who have served our country all the way back to the Korean War who testify to the effectiveness of marijuana for symptoms related to PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), chronic pain and other service connected disabilities.
Texas veterans are leading the fight for a comprehensive medical marijuana program in Texas. We hope you will join us as we prepare to advocate for medical marijuana during the 2017 Texas Legislative Session.
Please contact me at dave@texasnorml.org to see how you can be involved in our movement to reform marijuana laws in Texas.
Thank you for your service and thank you for your support.
David Bass
Director of Veterans Outreach, Texas NORML
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