Veteran’s Group Runs Ads Targeting Politicians Who ‘Undermine Legal Cannabis Industry’

A veteran’s advocacy group is running an advertising campaign challenging California politicians who they say are denying patients legal access to cannabis. The Weed for Warriors Project (“WFW”) campaign is targeting Democratic State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, who WFW Executive Director Sean Kiernan accuses of “taking positions that undermine the development of a functional legal cannabis industry.”

“She represents an obstruction to rational legislation which could alleviate some of the pressure felt in our community and her actions have contributed to the destabilization of California’s already floundering cannabis industry. Casting votes which directly harm veterans, their families, neighbors, and the considerable agricultural interests she represents, is indefensible.” — Kiernan in a press release

According to state data, Hurtado twice did not cast a vote to move the Medicinal Cannabis Patients’ Right of Access Act out of committee.

In the billboard ad, Hurtado is featured with President Joe Biden (D) and states that the Democrat “voted against veterans cannabis access” which equals “more veterans on opioids.”

In a statement, Jason Beck, the longest continuous retail operator of cannabis in the U.S. said that “the history of cannabis industry advocacy has been to treat politicians with kid gloves.”

“Looks to me like veterans have taken those gloves off,” he said. “This could be the bell that wakes the industry up from being a political victim.”