Indiana Firefighter is Fighting Lawmakers for Medical Marijuana Leglalization

Jeff Staker, a firefighter and former Marine, is fighting for medical marijuana legalization in Indiana. Although he seems like an unlikely advocate for legalization, he is now working on his brand new nonprofit organization, Hoosier Veterans for Medical Cannabis.  The Indiana Office of the Secretary of State approved the nonprofit’s status in July.

With the nonprofit, Staker plans to lobby state lawmakers to allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana, Kokomo Tribune reported. Staker first considered medical marijuana as a treatment option after five years of taking oxycodone (Percocet) and it stopped working for his pain.

Staker said, “I asked the doctor what he thought about cannabis, and he told me, ‘If I could prescribe it, I would. In a heartbeat.‘”

Staker continued, “Somebody has to do this. I’d be glad just to support somebody else, but I don’t see where there’s anyone really taking this on.”

Veterans Affairs doctors are permitted to recommend medical marijuana for treatment of state qualifying conditions in states where medical marijuana is legal.

In regards to the VA’s ability to make medical marijuana recommendations for veterans, Staker said, “That’s fuel for me to bring this to the state level and say, ‘Hey, our Congress has recognized that veterans are finding a need for this.’”

Backing his statements and support of medical marijuana as a treatment for chronic pain disorders, Staker includes the statistic that there were 28,600 opiate deaths in 2014. That means, according to this statistic, that someone died about every 20 minutes from an opiate overdose. Veteran opiate overdoses are nearly twice the national average.

Staker believes that veterans are the best people to advocate for medical marijuana legalization. He said, “Who’s going to get this done? Veterans have a better chance of being at the top of the spear than Joe civilian. Legislators listen to veterans. We’ve got to get their attention, and who better to do that than veterans?”

Several attempts to legalize medical marijuana in Indiana have all been unsuccessful, some did not even receive a vote. Representative Sue Errington did not receive a vote for her bill to legalize medical marijuana. She has been in touch with Staker regarding the new organization.

She said, “I think having a group in Indiana will help raise awareness of the things that veterans suffer from and that they’re looking for alternative ways to get relief. You always hope things will be different when you introduce a bill, but with the additional support from veterans, I think it gives the issue more traction. Legislatures listen to veterans.”