Category: Veterans

Veterans, Plant Medicines and the War on Drugs with Ian Benouis

When a soldier brings back trauma from the battlefield, there’s no single reliable way to help them integrate back into society. Everybody needs a different approach. For Ian Benouis, he rediscovered the power of plant medicines after his exit from the military and as he was working his way through law school. It led him on a path to introduce other veterans to plant medicines by organizing trips for them and as a lawyer activist working with a number of plant medicine organizations and churches.   

Dave Bass and Jason Walker Teach Us How to Drop Out of the PTSD Olympics Episode 6 of the Psychedelic Timeshare

Dave and Jason are combat veterans and twenty plus year career soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan respectively and then after retiring received medical disability for their service.

They are both advocates and activists in Texas for natural healing with cannabis and other psychedelic medicines.

Dave and Jason share their personal healing journeys, insights and visions in to the decriminalization, medicalization and legalization of cannabis and entheogens in Texas and nationally.

The Sam Galvin Story – How to Fight the War on Drugs and How to Surrender Episode 5 of the Psychedelic Timeshare

Sam is a combat veteran who served two tours of duty as a marine in Afghanistan in the Helmand province, the center of worldwide opium production.

He went to Peru for an ayahuasca dieta and Mexico for other medicines.

Sam talks about his personal healing journey and how he would like to see the medicines available and integrated in to society. He offers a vision for veteran healing using the National Park System.

The Ryan Begin Story – Soul Retrieval and How to Release your Demons Episode 4 of the Psychedelic Timeshare

Ryan is a combat veteran who served as a marine in Iraq and sustained injuries resulting in a purple heart. He was a key advocate who got PTSD added as a qualification to the medical cannabis program in Maine in 2013.

Ryan was part of the group of veterans that protested the VA’s policy on medical cannabis which was featured in the episode Stoned Vets on Weediquette on Viceland in 2016.

Ryan went to Mexico in December for bufo and dmt working with other veterans. He returned this January from a 21 dieta in Peru working with ayahuasca and mapacho (peruvian tobacco).

The Bryan Ortega Story – Natural Healing with Plant Medicines Episode 2 of the Psychedelic Timeshare

Bryan shares his experiences serving in the military as a Forward Observer and Blackhawk Helicopter Crew Chief in Iraq.

He tells his story of returning from combat with PTSD and using alcohol, opiates and pharmaceuticals to treat himself and finding a higher and deeper path with natural plant medicines (cannabis, mushrooms, dmt and 5-meo-dmt).

Bryan tells us how we can move forward to deliver full medical and spiritual freedom in Texas and the US.

Healing Trauma with Psychedelics

Eric Engberg interviews Ian Benouis — a political activist in the cannabis and natural plant medicine space. Ian has used sacred plants and a spiritual practice to deal with childhood trauma, and PTSD, resulting from military service. His journey toward healing was documented in the documentary, “Soldiers of the Vine”, which follows Ian and 6 […]

Planet Medicines for PTSD for Veterans

  Ian Benouis discusses plant medicine and how these medicines help veterans heal. Entheogenic medicine is of great interest to the vet community.  Texas Veterans for Medical Marijuana presents a discussion moderated by David Bass with Jason Walker and Ian Benouis.  

RX Leaf: VA Representative On Vets, PTSD, And Cannabis

Vets and suicide rate represent a national failure in mental healthcare. Why are their representatives lying about cannabis medicine? A Republican lawmaker from Texas lied about a scientific study in order to prevent U.S. combat veterans with PTSD from gaining access to medical cannabis. Making up stories about weed is nothing new for lawmakers, but […]