Latest / Ready To Drink Podcast / Army Vet Takes On NC Hemp Ban: CBG, the VA and Small Business | Jimmy Plunkett of Pressure Goat

Transcript

Army Vet Takes On NC Hemp Ban: CBG, the VA and Small Business | Jimmy Plunkett of Pressure Goat · Ready To Drink Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: My name is James Plunkett.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Go by Jimmy.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: And definitely consume.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Been a great way for me to get some medical help, too.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and Melissa Johnston from uh from Tryon Distributing introduced us, so I want to give her credit here.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is for our regulate don't ruin nc.com.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: And uh she mentioned you're a veteran, so tell me a little bit about that.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, definitely.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's how we met.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: We met at that drink event.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: She's a very nice person and was really helpful.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I was just super excited to be able to make this connection and try to help speak out for vets.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I was had my daughter basically at 16 years old, turning 17, and made a choice.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna get my GED and go in the army and try to progress some of this stuff faster than doing the whole college route, everything like that.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh had a phenomenal time.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: I went out there to Missouri about end of 2016, beginning of 2017.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, did my basic there, met some great friends, left there, went to Texas with some of them.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh as soon as we got to Texas, it was a little high tempo.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: They were changing from what they were doing before when we went to Kuwait to guard a port and do some support of uh Operation Spartan Shield.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really great experience.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Great to see the world.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, some of the people, they are my best friends to this day.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh lost a couple of people along the way, different things, and that's something that I want to always talk on and help other veterans with as well.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: But uh my son's godfather, he lives out here in Charlotte now.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of my buddies was from Charlotte originally and just uh made that connection with Frankenstein for life.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: I was just awesome.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: I've become the engineer while I was in the army.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: And uh my career changed some of my trajectory.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't want to get out on a display and I was thinking about doing at least one more contract, possibly being a lifer.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: I blew my knee out before Kuwait, let it heal wrong, and then I got hit by a drunk driver.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: And that gave me my last concussion, kind of rung my bell, and ended up being he was another service member going through some issues and things like that, and was drinking very heavily uh without getting some of the help that he might have needed as well.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: But uh changed my life path, was kind of frustrated at first, came out, was uh doing roofing sales, everything like that, and uh pretty much decided one day that okay, COVID's here, can't do this job, let me go get a trade.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Got a trade, met some really good friends, ended up building an EMS building in Concord with uh one of my childhood friends, and then my other business partner, Steven, and we kind of just came together one day.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: We were like, we consume this, all the stores are pretty transparent.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's some really good ones out here.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: We're glad that the laws have gone the way that they're going.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: And since I got back from the army, that was something that I've been doing as far as pain management, stuff like that.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: As soon as I found CBG and CBD, and then still was glad to smoke and stop drinking as much.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: But every once in a while I'll go out with my buddies, uh special memorial day, stuff like that.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have a drink then, Vietnamese friends party, stuff like that.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that it was a big change for me, and I've just been trying to find that next path in life for me, and that path seems to be helping other veterans, helping them get their their benefits figured out, helping them go get help from the VA.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's a scary place, but once you get in there and and work it, it really does great things for people.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: So how I got to this point and seeing that having a business, pressure goat, we're uh off of independence in Charlotte, basically.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: The biggest thing that I saw was I can help veterans and I can help regular people.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't ever want to push something, I don't ever want to sell anything.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: But this space is so open and forgiving with how if you comply, find the rules, make sure that you're within the lab results, health for everybody, you can really provide people a great product and give some people some some really good relief and help.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's what we shifted to.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I found the cannabinoid CBG.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: And CBG, the VA gave me uh cortisol injections, I went to physical therapy, did all these things for my back problems.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: And basically, the only things that seem to work is if I went to a chiropractor like every day, acupuncture.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: But they sent me a tens unit last year.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: They sent me a red light therapy device, and that's been really, really good.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: But about 60 milligrams of CBG takes that edge off, and I don't feel like a soda can crinkled up all day, every day.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so after I talked to my one buddy about that, he's way smarter than me, one of the other owners, Ty, pretty much he said, let's do this, man.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: We'll go ahead and get it started.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: About two and a half months ago, we opened up our store across from Bo Jingles Coliseum, and then we just take off from there.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: One of our big components was the drinks, and that's how we ended up meeting her out there, making the connection, because uh we found that hey, this is something that I like.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: I like that people can have a party at their house and someone that might not drink anymore, California sober, whatever you want to call it, there's still a way for people to have a good time, connect, and socialize.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: And just seeing that has been one of our biggest things.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we we kind of got it rolling, and and that's how I see another portion of what I want to do with helping veterans being able to happen now and continue to moving forward, you know?
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Last last week I was uh I was interviewing a gentleman named Kevin Gill for for another series we do, and he's a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran, and uh he's he's been uh using hemp beverages as long as they've been around and uh did it did a 30-minute episode with me, and it was a it was a beautiful story, and so was yours.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I really I I love talking with veterans about this because I think a lot of people see this industry as a stoner community, and it's just a bunch of dudes that go into Grateful Dead shows and all this other stuff and and uh just getting into trouble and curtain the law and stuff like that.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: But there's more to it than that.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's people in suits, there's mothers, there's grandmothers, there's grandfathers, and there's veterans.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: And and that's really this this product helps everyone, whether you're choosing from a for a medicinal track or you're choosing for a recreational track.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's the beauty of this plant is that both options are available for you.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: And not a lot of other tools, let's say, in the world in the world do really offer that versatility.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So talk a little bit about, you know, kind of without I don't, however much you want to share, about what it is and how you utilize it in your everyday life.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, it was socialization and you use a lot, use it in the medicinal side of things as well.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: So, how has that kind of helped improve and has it kind of kept you out of some of the other things that might be put in front of you, whether it's from the VA or other doctors or friends and stuff like that, trying to give you other pathways to get that relief you need in life and stuff?
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: No, 100%.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, that's the thing, is that some of these problems that we have are not able to be fixed ever.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's just permanent damage.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: I thought I was Superman and was trying to do everything and anything that I can to get promoted and get to the next level and help everybody.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: No, you don't need to carry that 400-pound box by yourself because prove that you can you you you become an example for everybody to say, don't do what Jimmy did because he's tore up from the floor up.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: But really, it it comes down to there's a lot of science behind it, and there's people that are way smarter than I am, but I'm learning constantly, and that's what we want to do at Pressure Go is educate everybody.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: And all these events that we've been to, we went to Canna Fest last weekend, same thing.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: I met uh another combat, he was a combat veteran himself, and uh another veteran out there, and just the same deal.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's like they use it as a way to stay off of flexor, hydrocodone, oxycot, and all these other things where people, even a normal person, has those things where they get a knee surgery, they have anything, and they're like, Oh, I don't know if I want to take that to end up being hooked on it.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's where I think the the cannabis space, and especially us in the hemp market here, it is so great because there's products out there that are THC free.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And in saying that, that doesn't mean you're not gonna fail a drug test if you take them all the time.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not a doctor, I can't tell you what the 50 nanograms that they're gonna drug test you for is gonna pick up, uh, or even if they're doing that on your test.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I do know that there's ways that you can have the benefits without the intoxifying effect.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: There's ways that you can compromise in both with ratios, and that's what I've been doing.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: The the edibles and gummy space is a big life shaper to me when I'm not at pressure gut working there.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: I do plumbing or different tasks where I've worked to the point where I don't have to physically work my body as much because they want to use my brain more.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: But that's it.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: I can take CBG in the morning, take the back pain off.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: And then I I have concussions and got hit by the drug driver.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: So the TBI stuff, foggy head, things like that.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying it's a cure all, but I do notice it because CBG specifically helps with mental clarity.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's been really big for me.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And people like yourself, someone that might not drink anymore.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: What happens if you have a surgery?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Are you willing to take pin pills from that because you don't know if that's going to make you drink again?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's all a personal story, but there's other ways that with your doctors talking to everybody, being open and transparent, that if they nix to the laws that they are now, I just get so scared about the fact that we have transparency.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: We have lab results.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: I have companies that I go from here in Charlotte to the mountains in Brevard, North Carolina, or Asheville or whatever.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: I know the person that I'm getting it from.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: They have all the same lab results from multiple companies.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: They're big corporations and companies that are doing tests for all this stuff all over the country.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: So you get to understand and know how it works.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm coming home with a bag of blueberry pain gummies for all these people.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great ratio.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I love to use is the ratios of one to four, four to one, one to one, two to one, et cetera, where people that might get anxious or have some things like that.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: CBD is always going to be your winner and being a higher thing to consume over record diet or THC in that sense.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: But it it's been to the point where I can take that, I can take something to not be like, oh Jimmy, you're in the clouds, we're focused.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm at work, I'm helping solve problems, I'm getting stuff done.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like it's it's awesome to have where I could, even not from my own store, stop while I'm in Davidson or Asheville or whatever and grab something to make my back paint go away and not worry about driving or those other things where we all know DWIs and things happen, don't consume and drive, but it it's a way to get something done without worrying about any form of intoxification.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I I love it.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a godsend, to be honest with you.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, to say something I've not talked about this show or even personally thought about, you just mentioned the brain fog and stuff like that.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've uh had three concussions, two from sports and one from uh from a one force trauma, head injury, 49 stitches down, right to the skull, kind of thing.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I just realized, as you just said that, I have, and since I stopped drinking and since I stopped taking pills, I haven't had any debilitating migraines or brain frog.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that just hit me as you said that.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: I've not even I've always focused on the social part and the not drinking.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: I actually never thought about that until this moment.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I appreciate you making me realize there's another aspect to it that has really helped me continue to not lose progress in my life and lose days, you know, being, you know, debilitated in the couch or the bed or trying to turn the lights off and sit in the dark for a couple hours, you know.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, and migraines, especially with the concussions, I'm glad to bring it up because like that's where I tell everybody that there's ways to go about this, especially with the space growing, and everybody just really the community is amazing in this.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: There's people out there where it's just like anything else, it's cutthroat in business and people want to make money.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: But the difference between this industry and a lot of other industries, like I really liked, I was watching one of the podcasts you were talking about before, and just you knowing these smaller brands from breweries and things, and it makes me think about how that small guy has to do some tests to make sure he's not good in the or whatever.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: But he might have something better than the big dudes, and nobody knows about it until they give it a chance, and then the word spreads, and then some of the it just stimulates the economy, stimulates the industry.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I noticed that people come up saying, Here, try to take a sample of this, do this, or hey, this works for your customers, and they were listening, they're sitting in my spiel as a salesman, which isn't a spiel, I'm just talking from the heart about how to help people.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I hope that they take that back to their store and tell people more and more and more, or start educating people on all the different cannabinoids that are there to help.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like it it really has uh been just a great experience, life-changing, and I where it's going, especially with like here in North Carolina, all the people that got together and I called the representatives and was doing stuff, we were making social media posts.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: But everybody that went to Raleigh and went there to talk to everybody, it's it's awesome.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's I want to thank you for doing that because that's I got I uh I I do this remotely and work alongside with Tryon and Crescent and Torch uh out of Pennsylvania trying to help them with this.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I wasn't physically there.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I I'm a big uh presence type person in the experience, and I wish I could have felt the emotion outside.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, we have our own fights in Pennsylvania as well that we're doing with House Bill 2309.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Talk a little bit about speaking to the lawmaker part.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if there was a lawmaker on this call right now, what would you what would you say to that lawmaker right now about not only North Carolina, but federally as well?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Really, I think that there's it's hard to put one thing on it because every state, like there's good laws I like in Maryland, there's good laws I like in in Colorado, et cetera, to help regulate this in their own space.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: But specifically for North Carolina and federally, I think that the bill that you guys already passed with the 2018 Farm Bill, it it was the gateway to open a way to help people anywhere.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: So if a state didn't choose to do recreational marijuana and have that, you still have something that is it's hard for people to understand the sciences behind the 0.3% and everything like that.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: But there's really I need to figure out how to word it better.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: But basically, the clean products, the things like that, my biggest fear is when you over-tax and when you over-regulate something and make it to where it's restricted or prohibition, basically, you push everybody back to the black market.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: And with that, it's the level of people in Charlotte coming to us and telling us how they love how clean our products are or how transparent we are with everything.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: I like giving people that sense of security because we go the extra step, we check, test, try, go around.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: If we don't like something from somewhere, even if it tastes bad, we change it.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: But that fear from the black market and the money that those organizations gain from this stuff is my number one.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that might come from me and my military background and focusing on what bad can come from other people like that having money.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: But it's there's 16,000 jobs in North Carolina that'll be affected right away.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's a$4.4 billion industry in the state right now.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: 3.2 just comes from the sales and stuff that way, and then the rest is coming from the people that they hire and pay to do the work.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: You have$87.8 million in tax revenue that will virtually just be lost.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: That number is only going up right now.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to sit there and look at it from a profitable standpoint or helping boost our middle class and everything, 90% of these businesses that get started in it are successful.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: We're just getting started and we don't have any investors, we don't have anything going like that.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's three construction workers, veterans, and whoever's willing to help getting it going.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I see the growth and I see where it's at, and it gives me hope.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Where, like I said, I've been trying to figure out what I'm doing since I got out of the military, since I lost that instant.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I know what I'm supposed to do is be here, do this, do this, do this.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: And even if they did a 10.5% excise tax or whatever they chose to do that way, people might not like it.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: They might not like how they're paying more.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: You you just have to will adjust and make sure that our customers find out how to still get their savings and stuff.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: But when you're a customer going to buy it, think about that.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm spending money on something that I need.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that money is about to go towards roads, that money's about to go towards my kids playing.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like I helped build a high school in Lake Wiley, South Carolina, or whatever.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: The amount of money that comes from revenue from the small businesses in general, but the added stuff that they can add to that, that's how your kids get to play looking like they're out in Texas or on a college football stadium right there in high school.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it comes from tax revenue.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that taxing too high pushes people back to the black market as well.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: So that's some things that we've learned from other states in our great union and everything else like that.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: But it's really, let's just talk about it.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: Don't throw the whole industry out.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's like four milligrams is the proposed cap per item or whatever.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I look at it like, okay, so now you guys are telling people you need to buy 93% lean beef only.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's all you can have.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: And there's people with dietary issues, there's people with different problems, people's all across the board.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: So you're telling me I can't go buy salmon.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: I have to eat 93% lean ground beef only.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that's it.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: This is your option, this is what you have for dinner.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: That doesn't sound very American to me.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the ways that we can help is there they've been doing it in a lot of other states, is prevent monopolization in the industry.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, small business does that.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: There's places and people go where they get a product from somewhere where they might pay more just because they want to support that business.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it just happens all over the place.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that what we've been doing specifically, and I hope it's noticed in North Carolina in general, is we get stuff from Missouri, New Jersey, Colorado, California, but I go out of my way to try to find brands and people that are here growing it in North Carolina.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Our number one drink that we use is Moonwaters and Riptide, and they're from Asheville.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: The Boomi brand is a woman-owned business out in Brevard that we sit there and I love their products.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: They're amazing.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: She's such a nice person.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: All their people on their staff is amazing.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I've had more problems with some of the larger companies that are just focused on making money than I've had with these small business owners.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: So we got to find that compromise.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: I want it to be where like everybody gets a similar experience in multiple stores, but we want that to be based on product quality testing and that way, not your store has to do this and look like this, and you can't have this and you can't do that.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: I respect it.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: I respect these lawmakers that there's certain things that might have to be that way, but I don't think this is the space for that.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that there's veteran-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, just businesses in general, that will be gone, lost, and thrown away with a swipe of a pen if we don't do this right.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I might not have all the interest of what right is, but I think that if we kind of say, North Carolina, we're making a stand and we're gonna stick with this because of how much it's grown.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a thing in North Carolina's history forever that the mountains and cannabis and everything like that.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: But now you're letting these people pay you taxes to do what they've been doing for years, anyways.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: People aren't gonna stop.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't want people to get in trouble.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to over-endate the jail systems.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: I want childproof packaging, I want 21 and up.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: I want ID required.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: Let's have classes that teach people how to do the IDs.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Get the UV flashlights, make sure they're not fake.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: I don't care what it is, but it definitely doesn't need to be you need to pay me a million dollars to have a store, or these are the only three stores that you can have in the whole entire state.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: When you uh you said something that's that struck me, and I I uh I say this a lot as well, but I want to actually hear it from your perspective as a veteran and an entrepreneur because you see both sides.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: I have chills actually while I'm about to say this.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: It it feels disrespectful as an American citizen, and it feels disrespectful as you, as somebody who fought for the freedom of the American dream, that this is where we are.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: When these this entire industry came from a law that was passed by the government, and now the government wants to villainize that instead of just putting regulation on something that they already created.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, it it really does feel like a smack in the face.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I personally don't like to get too drawn into because of my experiences in the army and things like that, but that's why I take it and shift it to help the other veterans.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: I've been with people that like one of my old squad leaders fought in the longest firefight in US history in Afghanistan.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: And everybody's different in those scenarios.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: But the one way that I see all of us coming together and and starting businesses, being entrepreneurs and things like that, is no matter which space it is, there seems to be a law or someone trying to get in the way and tell us that no, we don't want you to have.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: That and I I know it's not gonna be permanent, but I I think that uh it really would be something that you can't give someone something and take it away, and then for the people that take the extra step, gone and did what they're supposed to do and serve the country.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think that anytime they choose to speak up, because that's my biggest thing, and we spoke to the people from Try and Brewing, is why aren't veterans willing to talk about this?
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I want to touch on.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's because they get scared and nervous about what the repercussions could be for them speaking out in regards to VA direct.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think that that's a big issue that we need to figure out because the whole entire time I've been here, I think there's goods and and bads to every system that we have.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're not ever searching to always try to find the goods and always help the people make those goods more frequent, it's it's just I don't know.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think that's American, and I don't think that's how how people should be going at it.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: We got to figure out how to help the government make these choices.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: And the only way that we're gonna do that is standing together and and finding people to talk about it.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so what I did specifically, and it was off the record, there's laws and ways that attorneys can't speak on the media and things like that.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I looked into how the laws were written specifically from the VA, and then I had to think about why veterans wouldn't want to talk about it.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that the two biggest things are uh cannabis and the misconception that the VA is gonna take away your benefits or punish you in some sense, one way or another.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: And that's not true.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: The VA does the drug testing that they do to one, make sure that if you're taking a certain amount of medication, seeing what the levels are of that medication, but they don't want people selling narcotics to people.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: So if you test positive for marijuana, yeah, they might not give you the pain pill that you needed, but it's not because they're gonna take your benefits away or take any compensation or tell you you can't ever come back and see them.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's specifically for that reason.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: And then also there's times where a provider you have might be different.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: They might say this won't interfere at all with the medication that you're about to take.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Good to go.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: And and then the other one, which has been a different one and a hot topic, I guess, across that way, is just speaking out and having repercussions due to the firearm laws and things like that.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's been progressing, and the Supreme Court case hearing went well as far as making sure that they can't strip your Second Amendment that way.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: But that's not the main focus.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: I really think that most veterans are scared of that portion where the VA is gonna tell me I can't come back to get my medicine, or the VA is gonna take away my VA benefits, take away my school, take away my my kids' school, whatever it is that you end up getting from them.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's why I just try to educate and tell everybody that the way that they have it set up, they can't take away your benefits because you test positive for it.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: As far as pursuing something different, I can't say that they won't if you speak out or do something that they don't like.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: But I really do think there's a lot of great people at the VA.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that there's a lot of people that really want to help.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so, do I think that me speaking out and coming out here and talking about this is going to turn one of them to try to say, what's this guy doing?
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: Da-da-da-da-da.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that veterans need to go talk to the VA.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: If you aren't going, you need to go talk to them.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: If you have something that you're struggling with, there's a bunch of organizations out there that are really willing to help us out.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: And the only way I like to phrase it is the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not talking about it, you're not gonna get anything from it.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: It might not go as fast as you want.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: It takes way longer than it should, but they've been fixing it and it's been getting tremendously bitter as far as the timeline for that.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: But go talk to the mental health people, go talk to the people.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: You might not get all the answers you need, but those people, the suicide hotline, there's most of the time gonna be another veteran on the end of the line who's gonna tell you and try to guide you through what you need to do and just help.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what I really try to tell everybody about is start figuring out how to help each other, figuring out how we can help these organizations help everybody.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's why I think that the more veterans that speak out and speak up, which I'm trying to compile some more friends and people that are willing to come talk about it too.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I met some really good people along the way, so I think that that'll come come too as well.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I just want to present it to these people as like you said, we're finding a way to not be on narcotics, we're finding a way to try to live that better, healthy lifestyle, finding relief for the pains and aches that we have, and that mental clarity, whether you've got concussions or you have all these other things, ADHD is something that people have and consume cannabis for specifically as well.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: So get that from not too high to normal.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh it's something that when you talk about the VA, like I want everybody to understand, and I want to rewrite too.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I have actually nothing negative to say.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: I actually worked with the VA in Pennsylvania during COVID.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: They couldn't, for some whatever reason, being part of what they are, they couldn't find access to N95s and proper PPE for the VA houses across the state in Pennsylvania.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I happened to, my business basically shut down when COVID happened in Pennsylvania.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: They closed everything and I was lost.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: I have no, I was I'm self-employed and I had no option of revenue.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I linked up with a few distributors in the medical space, and we ended up sourcing around the country for a year.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: We supplied uh masks and gloves and tests and everything like that for them because they couldn't even get it.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I that was the part for me when I realized that like I have nothing bad to say necessarily because I'm seeing from their side now, and I'm like, it's not easy and it's not seamless for them either.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: They have to fight in procurement and fight for all these different things.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that's something where from the outside, you know, being somebody that I didn't, I didn't serve, but I have family that served and I I interview people a lot like yourself.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an advocate for all of that because it's access.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's American, it's access.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's the fact that I, as somebody who was working remotely in my house and driving all over the place during COVID, had to go find all this stuff for every single VA house in Pennsylvania.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, and I remember talking to them being like, Do you have access to this in any other distributor?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, No, you're literally the only person that's able to find this stuff for us.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't say this from a place of ego.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: I say this in the places that's not the way it's supposed to be.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like they're saying they're not supposed to be looking for outside venues to have to find what they need to find.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it was all up to par.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: And we went through the whole process and got registered with the state and everything like that to do it.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not trying to say we were doing some back van, uh back alley deal or anything like that.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: People y'all are stepping up, is what helps them get through that hard time.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because it it nobody's choosing to not give them what they need.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's just the process.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: Bureaucratic red tape is crazy and we all have to untangle it.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: But the more that we get together and talk about it and and problem solve, troubleshoot, all that.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's what I like to say.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not a problem solver, let's not make it a problem.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a troubleshooter, let's figure it out.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: I love that, man.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, anything else you want to you want to cover at all?
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is a fantastic conversation, man.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it, Jimmy.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: No, it was great.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: And if you ever are in Charlotte or out this way, come come down and see us over there, and we'll take care of you.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: And and we would love to just hang out and and talk more because we want to help help speak out and and do something about this.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: And not just from the sense that we started our businesses up and anything like that, but from just being a part of the community in the space.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: We all really care.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that taking this big step, like I said, I didn't I don't go on social media for our our our company.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_01: I don't do all that, but I'm willing to do it for something that I believe in, and this is something that I believe in.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing you did was a ramp, man.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: You came from a place of passion and education and intelligence and confidence, and I loved it all, man.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: I want to thank you publicly, man, for coming on because not only this, a lot of times our episodes are B2B.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: They're people in the industry, they're this, they're that, and I appreciate this.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: But the worst, the not the worst thing, but the thing that scares a lot of people off is there's no questions in advance.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you notice I didn't send you any questions, we didn't do any prep, we didn't do any run throughs.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that's because that's what people love about this show.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: And what I love doing is it's the realest thing on the internet.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's a real conversation.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: Jimmy and I, for all of you in the audience, we've never met.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: We've never shaken hands, had a beer or coffee or anything like that.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is how you connect with strangers, you find common interests, and you make friends.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: And in 2026, this world is beautifully destructive in every single way, but human connection is the saving grace.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: The love that you find for your fellow human being is what's going to carry us through the most chaotic times that we're going to see ever.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not predicting any doomsday thing, as much as I'm saying that the stress in life can be relieved with human connection.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, my challenge to everybody in this audience, and Jimmy, I want you to challenge everybody you know moving forward as well.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: I challenge every single guest.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Five minutes of kindness a week to a stranger, 20 minutes a month is the challenge.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: When you're walking down the street, you put your phone in your pocket, you look at everybody while they're walking by, you smile, you nod, you don't be creepy, you read the body language, know your boundaries.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: When you're at the gas station filling up that cup of coffee with the fumbling around with the creamer and the sugar, look at the person next to you, ask them how their day's going, and shut your mouth and listen to their story.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: Five minutes of kindness to a stranger, everybody out there, all of our guests, all of our audience members.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is shock the world with positivity, everybody.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's the goal, okay?
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, Jimmy, thank you so much, man, for having the balls and cajones and all that stuff to come on, man.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: I love that, man.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: It was awesome, and that message is great.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm about to pass it on.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent, man.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Jimmy, you have an awesome rest of your day, dude.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, man.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it, brother.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: Be safe.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Have a good one.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: All right, take care, everybody.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: Bye bye.