By Rebecca Victoria Olmos

In April, co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Dave Joyce (R-OH), joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) to introduce the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act of 2021. This bill would allow Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to discuss and recommend cannabis as treatment in states where weed is legal and research its effects.

Because of weed’s federally illegal status, the VA cannot recommend it as a possible treatment option. There are also limitations on the ability to conduct medical research on cannabis and its effects on different mental health conditions, physical ailments, and how it interacts with other medications. These are crucial factors to consider when treating a human with layers of medical conditions and trauma.

“It has been scientifically proven that medical marijuana has a considerable impact in treating conditions common with veterans when they return from service, like chronic pain and PTSD,” Lee said in a press release.

Veterans who return safely home often deal with more than one health issue due to their service. According to the National Academy of Sciences, these include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, and an array of others.

Doctors with the VA currently treat these ailments with prescription drugs. While these drugs can be helpful, they also can have adverse side effects like headaches, gastrointestinal conditions, and seizures.

Veterans often self-prescribe cannabis as an alternative medicine because it has less drastic side effects. A 2019 nationwide study done by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America found that 75% of veterans would consider using cannabis as treatment if it was made available to them.

The Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act of 2021 would provide five-year safe harbor protection for veterans and their doctors. This legislation is one of a few bills introduced this year to lift federal restrictions on cannabis research and recommendations for veterans.

VANCOUVER – TheNewswire – April 22, 2021 – CANNAMERICA BRANDS CORP. (“CannAmerica” or the “Company”) (CSE:CANA) (CNSX:CANA.CN) (OTC:CNNXF) is pleased to announce that on April 10, 2021, the Company entered into a partnership with the Veteran Sheepdogs of America (VSA) to provide assistance to veterans of the United States Armed Forces in need of service dogs with trained animals specifically for their needs.

VSA is a non-profit organization that advocates for access to benefits and services from the Veterans Administration on behalf of the servicemember, as well as advocating to members of Congress and State legislatures on behalf of veterans for greater access to earned benefits as well as other considerations for the care and benefit of America’s veteran community.  In partnering with VSA, the Company has committed to creating specific product lines with its licensees in the cannabis and hemp marketplaces that are co-branded with VSA, with a portion of the wholesale revenues generated going to the VSA to aid in funding efforts to provide service animals to veterans who need them.

Dan Anglin, CEO and Founder of CannAmerica said “As a company, we’ve been searching for the most appropriate organization to partner with the goal of creating opportunities to connect the veteran community and the cannabinoid industry, and we’ve found that partner in the Veteran Sheepdogs of America. Not only has VSA been working to create awareness of the shortfalls in benefits for veterans in general, but with the experience of its founders, Joshua Hosler a United States Marine Corps combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan who worked as a bomb-dog handler, and Anthony Archer, a high-ranking enlisted retired veteran of the United States Army and combat veteran who is also a recipient of a highly trained service dog named Sapper, we believe this partnership will create the kind of awareness for these efforts and the company’s commitment to creating alternative paths for post-service for veterans that we’ve made a part of our brand identity.”

Joshua Hosler, CEO and Founder of Veteran Sheepdogs of America stated: ” While Veteran Sheepdogs of America fights to hold the VA accountable, we know how important service dogs are to saving veterans’ lives. CannAmerica’s founder, Dan Anglin, has that same passion and appreciation for service dogs, which makes both organizations a perfect partnership.”

On the operational front, the Company continues to introduce new products into the legal cannabis marketplace through the introduction of CannaPuffs, a unique gummy confection that is softer than other gummies in the market due to a process of jet-puffing air into the confection during the manufacturing process. Additionally, the introduction of multiple packaging re-designs prior to this year’s “420” holiday has increased wholesale and retail sales in Colorado and Oklahoma by approximately 30% since March 15th.

The Company’s hemp licensee, VIII Brands LLC., makers of its unique brand of Hemp Crave gummies, began online direct to consumer sales on March 1st and wholesale distribution to retailers on March 15th. Online sales and information can be found on www.viiibrands.com

In terms of product development, the Company’s formulation of its branded beverage line, Hemp Quench, is expected to be completed with launch of the products scheduled to occur at the Okie Cup on May 1st, 2021. The Company is hosting the cannabis celebration event in Enid, Oklahoma, with thousands of attendees expected based on pre-event ticket sales. The Company’s partners, VIII Brands, LLC., will be selling hemp products at the event and introducing new product lines to attendees for announcing the launch.

Further to its press release dated February 24, 2021, the Company announces an extension of its previously announced proposed purchase of its Colorado licensee, Arsenal Oils and Extracts (“Arsenal”).  The Company has extended the due diligence period to June 15, 2021 based on the timing of the reduction in restrictions in Colorado creating increased demand for sales in the state.

For further information please contact the Company at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Dan Anglin

CEO / Director

CannAmerica Brands

www.cannamericaco.com

www.cannamericabrands.com

(720) 689-4028

About CannAmerica Brands Corp.

CannAmerica is a U.S. marine veteran founded and operated portfolio of cannabis brands with licensing agreements in the states of Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Massachusetts and the Country of Canada. The Company aims to maximize the value of its brands by employing strong brand management teams, marketing and licensing the brands through various distribution channels, including dispensaries, wholesalers, and distributors, in the United States and internationally. The Company’s core strategy is to enhance and monetize the global reach of its existing brands, and to pursue additional strategic acquisitions to grow the scope and diversity of its brand portfolio. For more information, please visit www.cannamericabrands.com.

This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.

When Chad Garcia left the army in 2014, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs prescribed him a laundry list of drugs to help him deal with the injuries – mental and physical – he suffered during his service.

“The VA gives you a bag of medication,” he said. “We dub it the ‘combat cocktail.’”

Garcia, 36, had suffered four concussions during his time in the army. One concussion came from the explosion of an IED, another came after a rocket-propelled grenade went off nearby.

The hardest part of his service, he said, was watching his friends fall in combat.

“It’s not like I’m watching them die and nothing is going on,” he said. “I’m watching them die, and then having to fight at the same time.”

He served from 2001-14, with three deployments in Afghanistan, in stints with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. He eventually attained the rank of sergeant before being medically retired due to post-traumatic stress.

When he returned to Bakersfield, he found it difficult to live the life he wanted to.

“I was drinking down all these pills and trying to adjust myself to transition into civilian life, and it wasn’t working out,” he said.

His thoughts kept returning to his deployment, to what he could have done differently. He was paranoid and had severe mood swings.

“I was losing my family. I was becoming very suicidal myself,” he said.

Garcia eventually turned to medical marijuana after obtaining a prescription.

He now takes various forms of medical marijuana to “stay mellow” throughout the day. He uses a mixture of cannabidiol – a cannabis compound less psychoactive than THC – and indica, a cannabis strain believed to have relaxing effects.

“Just like every other medication, you’ve got to take doses, you’ve got to take it throughout the day,” Garcia said. “You can’t just wake up, take a bong rip, and expect it to work.”

The marijuana aided his symptoms much better than the medication prescribed by the VA, he said.

“I’ve seen a complete change in my temperament, a complete change in the way I interact with people,” he said. “Everybody who knows me has seen a change.”

When Garcia began using medical marijuana, he joined a contingent of the Kern County veteran community who use the drug to deal with maladies accrued while in the service.

Garcia has advocated to the Kern County Board of Supervisors for them to overturn the county’s ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.

He provided an informal survey he conducted to the supervisors, in which 52 of 88 respondents who identified themselves as local veterans said they had used cannabis to relieve health issues.

These veterans, along with every other medical marijuana user in the county, could soon be dealing with the closure of the local market.

All 31 medical marijuana dispensaries currently legally operating are scheduled to shut down Nov. 24 or shortly afterward.

The permits for the dispensaries were grandfathered in after the ban, with the November end date in place should nothing change.

“That would suck,” said U.S. Marine veteran Nick Miranda. “It would make me feel like I’m some kind of high school delinquent who is sneaking out of the house to meet up with a shady character. Veterans should be treated with more dignity than that.”

Miranda, 35, has a metal disk in his foot, placed there after he suffered a repetitive stress injury as a 50-caliber machine gunner on a helicopter during the Iraq War.

He served as a marine from 2006 to 2010, deploying to Iraq in 2007.

While on deployment, a dust storm caused a stomach infection, which impacted Miranda’s appetite.

When he returned to Kern County, he said he became addicted to hydrocodone, which had been prescribed to him by the VA.

“It was horrible,” he said. “The first thing I’d do when I woke up was reach for that pill bottle. It got to the point where I’d chew like three to five at a time and, boom, that would be my morning kick.”

When Miranda turned to marijuana, he found it treated him better than the medication he had been taking for his PTSD, foot injury, and stomach issues.

“It helps me relax, and function out in society without looking like this ADHD guy who is constantly looking like he’s uncomfortable,” he said.

Miranda does not think the situation in the county is ideal. He said the county’s current plan limits the products he is able to purchase, while counties to the west of Kern provide far more options to their customers.

He said most of the veterans he knows, even those who do not use medical marijuana, think the same way he does.

“Veterans, we all talk,” he said. “We’re scratching our heads trying to figure out what’s going on. This is not about political party, either. There are Democrats and Republican veterans. We’re all on the same page for this.”

There is a chance the market could soon open up. Voters this November will consider several ballot measures that could overturn the medical marijuana dispensary bans currently in place in Bakersfield and unincorporated Kern County.

The marijuana issues is unpopular among both the supervisors and the Bakersfield City Council.

Miranda said he hopes attitudes about marijuana will soon change throughout the county.

“I am a veteran. I am a marine,” he said. “I realize that for myself and many of our fellow veterans, this is something that we do need, and this is something that we need in Kern County.”

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