TXcann.com Stephen Carter / February 21, 2017
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas veterans will gather at the State Capitol Wednesday for a lobby day in support of comprehensive medical marijuana legislation. The group will hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. CT in front of the Vietnam Veterans Monument, the same location where Operation Trapped was launched in November 2015.
Operation Trapped is a veteran-based campaign that was formed to build support for legislation allowing the use of medical marijuana as a safer alternative to prescription drugs in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), chronic pain, and other service-related conditions.
Immediately following the news conference, the group will deliver a letter to the office of Gov. Greg Abbott, requesting that he meet with some of the veterans who have used medical marijuana to treat PTSD, TBI, and chronic pain. The letter was originally sent to Abbott last year with a request for a meeting with the governor. The governor’s office has yet to indicate if or when there may be a meeting. It will be re-delivered Wednesday with the signatures of more than 1,400 Texas veterans who want Abbot to hear firsthand testimony about benefits of medical marijuana for veterans.
The veterans will then meet with lawmakers throughout the day to voice their support for HB 2107 and SB 269, which would allow seriously ill patients to access medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it.
“Cannabis helps treat our service-related conditions,” said David Bass, a Killeen-based U.S. Army veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom II. “Despite Texas’s outdated and unreasonable laws, many veterans choose to use this plant to replace or supplement pharmaceutical drugs. We should not be criminalized for using a medicine that is now legal in 28 states and our nation’s capital.”
WHAT: News conference to kick off Texas veterans lobby day in support of comprehensive medical marijuana legislation, followed by the delivery of a letter signed by 1,400+ Texas veterans to Gov. Greg Abbott
WHEN: Wednesday, February 22, 10:30 a.m. CT
WHERE: Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument, northeast side of Texas State Capitol grounds (near the corner of 14th and Brazos Streets), Austin
WHO: David Bass, Killeen-based U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq
Additional Texas veterans
Representatives from Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy
http://txcann.com/texas-veterans-gather-state-capitol-lobby-comprehensive-medical-marijuana-legislation-deliver-letter-gov-abbott/
