A POEM

The Overnight Success (Sorta)

I once met a man with a plan in his head,
It started the day he got out of the red—
Of the Army, the war, the pills, and the fog,
He lit up a joint and walked into the slog.

They said, “Don’t be loud.”
They said, “Know your place.”
They gave him a flag
And a cold, blank face.

But he marched on through with a fire in his chest,
Not for medals or claps, but to give folks some rest.
He built up a case with a pocket of proof,
Told the truth to the liars, and stood on the roof.

“Cannabis helps,” he declared with a grin,
While the suits rolled their eyes and said, “That’s a sin.”
But twenty years later, that kid with no clout
Wrote words the U.N. couldn’t help but shout out.

From VA stairs where the hopeless once cried
To global halls where the treaties collide—
They called him “success” like it just showed up late,
But he’d danced with despair and wrestled with fate.

So if you see him smiling, don’t think it came fast,
His lane was the long one, but he still got there last.
With belief in his pocket and burnout for fuel,
He broke all their boxes and rewrote the rule.

Merit Badges From Canna-Scouts

Awarded for surviving the hypocrisy and still giving a damn.

🏅 Civic Leadership (Advanced) – for not just joining the conversation, but shaping national and international policy.

🏅 Advocacy Under Fire – for continuing the fight long after the uniform came off, even while blacklisted and ghosted.

🏅 Policy Alchemy – for turning lived trauma into sharp, actionable legislation.

🏅 Whistleblower Valor – for calling out fraud, corruption, and hypocrisy, even when it cost access and credibility among the "polite class."

🏅 International Diplomacy (UN Edition) – for literally putting veteran cannabis access on record at the United Nations. That’s a mic drop from orbit.

🏅 Survival (Post-Service) – for crawling out of that lowest moment, self-rescuing, and still having the guts to build something bigger.

🏅 Strategic Noncompliance – for wielding truth as both shield and weapon, refusing to bow to bureaucratic silencing.

🏅 Medical Cannabis Trailblazer – for turning recovery into a roadmap for others.

Honestly, we might need to design a whole new sash just to fit them all. 😎

They told him to find a hobby. He accidentally built a movement. Classic veteran overachiever move.