A Story By Jake the Professor Dimmok
It was an extreme honor to be welcomed by Patrick Saint and the Twenty22Many at their first annual fundraiser. Saint and the other volunteer veterans continue to help American Veterans by bringing awareness to the extremely high suicide rates among our military veterans. Their new program, Twenty22Many, is a Veterans group born out of the old Medical Marijuana Collective model proceeding recreational cannabis in Washington state.
Saint became aware of the 22 daily suicides reported from the VA in 2013 and his life’s mission would be set in a new direction. It is reported that 22 daily suicides occur daily in America, and it became clear to Patrick and his group of Veteran volunteers that help was needed from our new Washington State recreational cannabis community. Born of need and necessity, Patrick and the all-veteran volunteer group set out to develop a program the Washington State i502 Recreational Cannabis Shops can participate in. Veteran Support Depot, in short, will offer a safe haven and access to resources and help from participating i502 Retail shops.
Most importantly, if a veteran walks through their door in need of anything, they will be given a flyer with valuable contact information on it and Twenty22many will promptly dispatch another veteran volunteer to be able to get resources to that veteran in need. Essentially opening up veteran hubs all over the state, this is a serious attempt to help veterans in need.
I was part of a military family member growing up. I have a Father and a Sister who served in the armed forces. This is why I was especially excited to join Twenty22Many at Heylo Cannabis Extractions in Sodo Seattle. Heylo Cannabis Extraction hosts cannabis industry events at their i502 Cannabis Processing business. There were several industry leaders in attendance and I was humbled to be in such great company.
This particular event started off with an art auction. The featured artist attending was Adream. His work is so detailed and inspiring. These works are like DMT meet LSD they are both colorful and spiritual in some mystical way. It seemed that everyone loved Adream and the spirit and enlightenment he demonstrated in his work and with his presence.
Earlier in the day, I attended a glass blowing event earlier, hosted by Weekend Unlimited, Jerome Baker Designs, and Leafly. Jason Harris of JBD Glass graciously donated a wonderful JBD bong to Patrick and the Twenty22Many. It was also my extreme honor to present Patrick with a Challenge Coin. In the military, challenge coins are often offered to visiting dignitaries or guest of a unit or platoon. This particular coin was given to me by a Four Star General “Skip” Dreps a well known Veterans advocate who works with the Disabled Veterans of the Pacific Northwest. General Dreps is a good friend of Jake The Professor and he always jumps at the chance to help his fellow brothers in arms.
I want to encourage all the recreational cannabis dispensaries to consider what you and your crew can do to help these brave men and woman who served our US Military. Patrick Saint and the Twenty22Many need our help and support to carry out this very important mission. We can work together to reduce suicide rates within the Veterans community.
Please reach out to Twenty22Many in Olympia to participate in this life-saving program.
