Reaction to New Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs

The Weed for Warriors first impression of Dr. Ronny Jackson’s nomination is it could have been a lot worse given some of the names that were discussed. Dr. Jackson lacks any experience running a large bureaucratic agency. However, what we are getting is a highly qualified medical professional who has a distinguished service record of serving on the front lines of our medical corp. where he was in a forward deployed emergency platoon in Iraq. So we think it’s fair to say, Dr Jackson comprehends via his own service many of the sacrifices these active duty soldiers, marines, and other service members go through, and that is a huge plus. Regarding his lack of bureaucratic experience, and it’s glaring; we are going to wait to see how the confirmation process goes. We want to hear where he stands on the issues; issues like his views on privatization, what he would do to combat the suicide and overdose epidemic amongst veterans, and obviously how cannabis could fit into a VA run by Dr. Jackson. The Weed for Warriors could live with Dr. Jackson’s lack of bureaucratic experience if he leads as a Doctor and not as a political bureaucrat because as a Doctor there should be only one stance in the face of the suicide and overdose epidemic: Cannabis should be an available option.

Regarding David Shulkin, obviously we were extremely disappointed with his stance on cannabis. His failure to help Dr. Sisley’s study left many of us bitter, bitter because many of us believe cannabis is currently the best option we have for combating the suicide and overdose epidemic. Shulkin’s lack of progress on that topic, meaning providing a meaningful and effective policy to combat these epidemics is what led many of us to lose confidence in his leadership. That being said, this country owes a thank you to all those who serve in what we would call one of the toughest jobs in Washington. Shulkin had successes and did bring positive change on many fronts. For that, he deserves our thanks and we wish him the greatest success and will end our comments on that positive.

Sean Kiernan, President

Weed for Warriors

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cannabis newsDr. Ronny Jacksonmarijuana legalizationMarijuana NewsPresident TrumpSean KiernanSecretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs