| Vets Helping Vets |
Every day in America, 18 military veterans commit suicide. The United States has lost more military service-members and veterans to suicide than to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Oregon is home to an estimated 300,000 veterans, including more than 20,000 from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, according to the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs. A 2008 Rand Corporation study found nearly 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan vets reported PTSD symptoms.
Currently, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program does not recognize or allow for access to cannabis to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Therefore, Oregon military veterans who suffer from PTSD cannot access medical marijuana.
| Roy Kaufmann |
| Roy Kaufmann, Yes On 80: “Marijuana is as ubiquitous in our society as prescription medicine or coffee and needs to be regulated accordingly” |
On Monday, October 29, Veterans for Measure 80 will be holding two press conferences to share why they support Measure 80 and common-sense marijuana regulation in Oregon.
Where
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 907
824 SE Mill Street (at Grand)
Portland, OR 97214
Ashland Library
Gresham Room
410 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, Oregon 97520
When
Monday, Oct. 29, 2012
Portland
10:30 a.m.: Media, speakers arrive
11 a.m.: Speakers
11:30 a.m.: Q&A
Ashland
2:30 p.m.: Media, speakers arrive
3 p.m.: Speakers
3:30 p.m.: Q&A
Who
Portland
· Roy Kaufmann, spokesman, Yes on 80
· U.S. Air Force Sergeant (disabled-retired) Michael Krawitz, Founder, Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access
· Trish Morningstar, PTSD victim and speaker
· Nick Price, U.S. Navy veteran
· William Adkins, U.S. Navy veteran
Ashland
· Rep. Peter Buckley (D-Ashland), Co-Chair, Oregon House Ways & Means Co-Chair
· Paul Stanford, Chief Petitioner, Yes on 80, U.S. Army veteran (M.C.)
· Lori Duckworth, Founder, Southern Oregon Cannabis Community Center
· Military veterans
“When alcohol use is at record lows, while marijuana use continues to climb, it’s impossible to say that prohibition works,” said Measure 80 spokesman Roy Kaufmann. “We need to take lessons from our regulate-and-educate approach to alcohol.”
“Though legal, alcohol is heavily regulated, allowing us to educate our citizens and regulate an industry,” Kaufmann said. “Marijuana is as ubiquitous in our society as prescription medicine or coffee and needs to be regulated accordingly.”
“Measure 80, which will regulate marijuana like liquor — for adults 21 and over, sold through state-licensed stores only, and with 90 percent of tax revenues going to the state’s general fund to pay for schools and social services,” Kaufmann said. “Measure 80 will also finally re-allow Oregon farmers to grow hemp for biofuel, food, fiber and medicine.”