High Times for Heroes “to raise awareness and funding” to educate vets and VA staff “surrounding medical cannabis”
We’re here to tell you about a comedy show.
But before the laughs, the joint forces behind High Times for Heroes, a “night of comedy for our vets” on May 20 at the Olio Theatre in Peabody, explain that their event isn’t just a fundraiser.
Together, the Cannabis Center of Excellence (CCOE), UCANNB2B, and Patriots Helping Vets (PHV) are collaborating “to raise awareness, funding, and—with community input—develop materials for Veterans and Veteran Affairs staff surrounding medical cannabis.”
As the organizers explain, “funds raised through High Times for Heroes will go towards developing evidence-based educational materials supported by data collected through a systematic literature review, publicly available data, and CCOE-led iCount for Veterans research study data collected from July 2022 to date.”
So far, their work has shown key findings among 235 veterans including the top conditions veterans report using medical cannabis for, and the high number of vets who use cannabis to reduce their use of more harmful drugs.
“It is important to note that of the 235 veterans participating in the CCOE iCount for veterans research study to date, 46% report medical cannabis is most useful for anxiety, 42% depression, 37% PTSD, and 34% chronic pain,” said Dr. Marion McNabb, the CCOE president who is running the iCount for Veterans study. She added that “75% of veterans reporting using cannabis increases quality of life and of those reporting medication use, 62% use cannabis to reduce prescription and over-the-counter medication use.”
As for the event, CCOE and friends will have pre-show networking with food and drinks, followed by four great comics—Josh Day, Corey Rodriguez, Laura Severse, and Steven Briggs. Briggs, an LA-based comedian and actor, just returned from his fifth tour performing for the US troops in the Middle East.
Organizers added, “The goal of High Times for Heroes is to raise awareness about these research fundings and raise funding to utilize these findings … specific to the conditions veterans most face.”
