Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1488734
30 patient focus cannabis patient care | vol. 3 no. 4 cannapatientcare.com Starting in 1996 with California becoming the first US state to legalize cannabis for medical use, cannabis legalization con- tinued state by state for years, up to present day. Full legali- zation at the federal level seems inevitable. "I've been watch- ing the numbers go up on how many states are legalized and how many aren't," said Ellmore. "I keep asking myself when it gets close to 50, how is the federal government going to deny the people?" However, with each new state that legalizes cannabis for recreational use, the protections and access needed by pa- tients becomes threatened with focus shifted to recreation- al markets and buyers. "I'm still paying attention to advo- cacy here in Maryland and watching the new legalization," explained Ellmore. "I'm worried about adult recreational use. If we go to adult use, are we going to lose focus on the medi- cal aspect of it? Are we going to get lab-tested, quality canna- bis and availability? If we let medical cannabis go the wayside, then the image will shift to people who just want to get high, and then we're back to the stigma that we've been fighting to break the whole time." New Territory, More Alliances As Ellmore reaches more veterans with his films, his advocacy continues to evolve into new forms, including a podcast and possible docu-series to connect with more people and explore how their stories resonate with others. With support from his nonprofit, Ellmore drafted up an idea for a docu-series of individuals or organizations with specific stories of overcom- ing trauma, and how natural medicines played a part in their healing. During this time, a friend of Cherissa Jackson started a woman-owned black podcast network called Alive Podcast Network and invited Ellmore to air his show on the networks and app. "My new series is called The UP! LIFE, with Cherissa Jackson as co-host," said Ellmore. "By bringing it into this channel, it actual- ly helped me focus my attention more on the black community, and those who are experiencing adversity and roadblocks into healing or success. Now we're doing stories that are black centric and talking about the Last Prisoner Project, for example." The Last Prisoner Project was founded in 2019 with the goal of freeing and supporting people incarcerated for canna- bis offenses in the US. As one example, Ellmore described the experience of Purple Heart recipient and PTSD patient Sean Worsley, who was sentenced to five years in prison for medi- cal cannabis possession and released in 2020. "Trauma is trauma," Ellmore said. "I am trying bridge the gap between the civilian and military to say that it doesn't matter if your trauma comes from abuse or from the battlefield, togeth- er we all need to overcome it. That's the inspiration of each of these stories, which are what I call a hero's journey." Ellmore shared that a hero's journey is a story of someone leaving home, encountering a great trauma along the way and overcoming it, but also being changed by the experience, and returning home as a different person. The Way Home: How Civilians Can Help Veterans Having already made an impact in the veteran community, Ellmore looks to reach civilians and get their support in return. "We're trying to open up the civilian community to hear our stories, to reach the rest of the 99% of the population to hear our plight. I'm trying to make a bridge so that we can all fight with the federal government to legalize cannabis," he said. "It doesn't matter if cannabis is legal in your state, as long as there are federal prohibitions, then there are still people going to jail for it—even to this day. There are still cannabis refugees seeking their medicine in states where it's legal. Cannabis has been demonized because of control, and it's time that people take it back." One part of becoming an advocate means educating yourself on understanding the misinformation and also learning about what cannabis actually can do. "Do your homework and don't listen to the lies," Ellmore said. "Study up on it. My advice is to understand what our bodies need, that it really is a medicine, and it is saving lives, young and old." More specifically, civilians can show their support and help advocate for veterans. As Cherissa Jackson said in an opening in- troduction to a 2022 South by Southwest (SXSW) Unprescribed film screening (1), "Everyone says, 'thank you for your service,' because that's what you think you're supposed to say when you see a veteran. I encourage you to instead ask us, 'what can I do, how can I help, how can I serve you?' And I think a veteran will love for you to say that, as a civilian. That's the way that we real- ly know that you're concerned about us." "My personal plea is show me that this film means something by watching it and getting people to watch it," Ellmore said. "Any funds will help us buy advertising that we need to get that mes- sage out there. Then I can get more texts from Boone showing that veterans are telling him we saved their lives, because that's what we're doing. We all look out for ourselves and our brothers and our sisters in the military. So, let's look out for each other and help out. Contribute." For more information, please visit: • Unprescribed on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/ dp/B08DK7TNT2 • The Unprescribed Nonprofit: www.theunprescribed.org • Donations: https://www.theunprescribed.org/donate.html • The UP! Life podcast (on all major platforms) iHeartRa- dio, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts Cannabis Science Conference will also be screening Unpre- scribed at upcoming 2023 shows. For more information, please visit www.cannabisscienceconference.com. Reference (1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b11d6Qh47CI