Ian Benouis, a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot, has testified at the Capitol on behalf of patients with PTSD who use marijuana to treat symptoms. He admits he has been using marijuana for more than 20 years after trying prescription pills that he didn’t react well to.

“You can sleep through the night, that’s the biggest thing for me is that the nightmares and bad dreams, I don’t have them with cannabis,” said Benouis. “I’m using a plant that in my opinion God put here to help humanity whereas the government is saying ‘Oh, you can’t use that but you can use all these pharmaceuticals which the side effects are suicide and suicidal thoughts.'”