This Soldier Is Celebrating Veterans Day With Family, Reflection, and a Big Coner
Cody Lindsay wants fellow veterans to know that medicinal marijuana has changed his life for the better. While serving as a chef in the Canadian military, Lindsay was deployed to Afghanistan. The experience left him constantly rattled, ready to snap under the smallest amount of pressure.
'It helps when veterans talk about cannabis with one another.'
Upon his return to Canada, he started using cannabis to help with his symptoms. A neighbor reported him to the military police and he was discharged for drug use. In an ironic twist, Lindsay was eventually diagnosed with PTSD and now acquires his medicinal cannabis through Veterans Affairs.
He’s now committed to educating other vets about the benefits of medicinal marijuana. As the Wellness Soldier, Lindsay authors cookbooks, speaks to veterans groups, and regularly puts on cooking demos at cannabis conventions, all with the goal of educating others on the best way to consume the herb through a healthy diet.
He spoke to Leafly about Remembrance Day (Veteran’s Day in the U.S.) and what veterans should know about using cannabis for their symptoms.
LEAFLY: How are you planning on commemorating Remembrance Day?
CODY LINDSAY: When I lived in Ottawa, I would bring my family to a bed and breakfast the night before Remembrance Day. There is this company called B&B for Vets that gives vets free stays at different B&B’s around the country. After a night of being away and relaxing we would go down to Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Now that we are living in Victoria, BC, we are continuing that tradition of going out for the night even though the B&B for Vets isn’t in Victoria. We’ll go to a B&B, relax, rejuvenate, and I’ll prepare myself for Remembrance Day. We will go to the Esquimalt cenotaph and watch the ceremonies there. Then I’ll bring the kids for a tour of the base and show them a little about my military career
After all that craziness is over, I’ll have a moment of silence by myself and smoke a big coner.
What is the biggest hindrance to military veterans getting honest information about medicinal cannabis?
Decades of prohibition. Years of fear-driven tactics. Thoughts that if you even mention the word ‘cannabis’ you could be kicked out of the military and lose your career.
Thankfully, veterans are starting to believe themselves and each other. It helps when we talk about cannabis with one another. Veterans are coming together more, helping each other more, talking more, setting up Facebook pages and websites, setting up not-for-profit organizations to do just that—help other vets see the benefits of cannabis.
We also tell the doctors here in Canada that cannabis is working and giving vets their life back. Often we are met with ‘Oh, that’s anecdotal!’
Well, to me, if someone tells me something about themselves, I tend to trust them. It’s their own body!
If you could instill one fact about cannabis into the brain of every veteran in North America, what would it be?
There’s nothing to be afraid of!
Cannabis does not interfere with other medications. The ‘stoner-isms’ of cannabis are what the medical properties are. With more and more research being done on cannabinoids, we see a lot of promise for naturally derived medications such as cannabis.
For more information about cannabis and cannabis recipes visit The Wellness Soldier website.
Elianna Lev is a writer who splits her time between Toronto and Vancouver.
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