‘Cannabis helps me be a better version of myself’: KJ Saffold, veteran and founder of The Green Zone

I was born and raised in the inner city of Chicago — both the West Side and the South Side. In the early 90s to the early 2000s, it was a very stressful place to live.

A lot of the things you see on TV that plague inner cities were my everyday experiences. I had friends who succumbed to violence on the streets. I saw firsthand the challenges of growing up in that kind of environment.

It wasn’t until I transitioned into the military that I realized many of the things I experienced in my youth were very similar to the experiences of soldiers.

That’s when I made the connection that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) isn’t unique to veterans. It can affect anyone who deals with challenges, especially if we don’t know how to navigate those challenges.

Making that connection early on led to exploring alternative means for my health and wellness, and that led me to cannabis.

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My experience with anxiety and PTSD

A lot of my anxiety was the result of having too much responsibility when I was younger and feeling all the pressures of having to please everyone.

Some of the signs and symptoms I’d have, like a tingling down my back, felt impossible to shake.

After the military, I became sort of a guinea pig for anxiety and PTSD treatments. I became familiar with the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system, and I knew that there was more nuance to healthcare than what was being offered by my providers.

Many of the treatments my doctors suggested didn’t give me good results. So, instead of wasting my time, I started taking a more holistic approach to my wellness.

Discovering medical cannabis

I asked my healthcare team about medical cannabis to get a basic understanding of how it works. Based on their responses, I realized that the likelihood of getting helpful information — let alone access to medical cannabis — was slim to none.

I see a lot of veterans, in particular, spinning their wheels trying to get good information from what they believe are all the right sources to treat their conditions.

But the valuable, unbiased information they seek just isn’t there. And it’s no one’s fault in particular, it’s just how the system is.

I reached the end of the road with the traditional U.S. healthcare system and what they could offer. So, I started looking for organizations like Leafwell, who could finally answer my questions about medical cannabis and what it could do for my condition.

Getting a card for the first time through Leafwell

I got my medical cannabis card through Leafwell in 2021.

Leafwell didn’t pressure me to sign up for a card. With some organizations, you feel like you have to sign up and pay for something right away, but Leafwell wasn’t like that.

With Leafwell:

• You can spend 3 hours just reading through the educational resources on the website and learn about medical cannabis for yourself.
• You can find out more about your condition, read the research that’s available, and have a full understanding at the end.
• You can speak to Leafwell doctors and ask them questions about your health.

These are the greatest opportunities as a veteran. Leafwell gives veterans the freedom to grow and learn and not feel cornered or judged for asking simple questions about alternative treatments, which are usually not well-received in a traditional healthcare environment.

What medical cannabis has done for me

A lot of people with PTSD or anxiety are looking for a product that will change who they are. What we really need is to be in balance with ourselves.

Cannabis helps me return to that balance, which allows me to be a better version of myself.

For example, I don’t like being in big crowds, but I always find myself in them. When this happens, I check in with myself to see what I need to do to restore my sense of balance. Sometimes it’s taking a few deep breaths, and sometimes it’s cannabis.

What excites me the most about cannabis is that I don’t think we’re even halfway there in understanding what it’s capable of.

I’m looking forward to future innovations as cannabis technology and our knowledge of the plant evolves.

Creating The Green Zone

The Green Zone is a veteran-forward organization that brings together different organizations, veterans, and support groups.

I created it to expand the opportunities that cannabis can bring to veterans, whether it’s health and wellness support, employment, or something else.

A lot of companies constantly try to sell to veterans, and it’s challenging to find what’s true and real. Everyone wants to know our veteran numbers and what we’re buying.

The Green Zone allows me to vet organizations that claim to help veterans. For example, someone might approach me and say, “Hey, I’m a cannabis entrepreneur, and I make merchandise. I donate 10% of all my proceeds to veteran organizations.”

I’ll then allow that person to show me who they are and not just say who they are. If they’re doing great things, I’ll ask, “How can I elevate what you’re doing?”

The Green Zone has established partnerships, and Leafwell is the most awesome example. Through these partnerships, I can introduce our supporters to vetted connections. If you come to The Green Zone broken, you leave more whole, more balanced, and more empowered, with the knowledge of what will set you up for success.

What other veterans should know about medical cannabis

When it comes to other veterans exploring medical cannabis, I always say this: Do your own research. Allow yourself to grow. By learning on your own, you can develop your own understanding of what cannabis can do for you as an individual.

If you’re not doing your own research, you might be influenced by outdated stereotypes and stigma.

‘You can move differently when you have a card’

A medical card gives you safety and security. You can move differently when you have a card — you don’t have to feel sketchy waiting in a lobby to meet someone to buy cannabis.

When you say you have a card, people want to talk about it instead of treating you like you’re shady.

As a veteran, I want to feel safe. Having a medical card does that. It makes me feel safe and allows me to open up about what makes me better.

Having a card gives you access to higher-quality products while also providing a sense of community, which is one of the most important things that humans need.

Breaking the stigma

It’s so helpful to have a healthcare professional validate that cannabis can actually help you when so many of us remember it being stigmatized.

A medical marijuana card gives you the advantage of getting guidance from healthcare professionals who understand cannabis, as opposed to trying to figure things out on your own, like what strains to buy or how much product to use.

With medical cannabis cards, we’re also destigmatizing the plant for the next generation. If kids ask why I use it, I can tell them that it’s because my doctor recommends it. With that, I’m planting a seed in a child’s head that it’s not some bad drug — it’s medicine.

KJ Saffold is founder of The Green Zone, an organization that provides resources, community, and education to veterans who may benefit from medical cannabis.

This interview has been edited lightly for clarity.