Sean Azzariti

Your name: Sean
Azzariti

Your occupation: Cannabis
and Veterans’ advocate

When and how did you
become an advocate for cannabis?

Shortly after exiting the military in 2006, I was diagnosed
with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After being prescribed an
exorbitant amount of prescription pills that likely would have done more damage
than good, I started looking into how cannabis could be beneficial to help my
PTSD. I was actually denied my first application to obtain my medical marijuana
license in 2008 here in CO, because PTSD was not (and still isn’t) a qualifying
ailment for medical marijuana in this state. That didn’t settle well with me,
so I started reaching out to organizations such as SAFER, MPP and ASA. I
wanted to see what I could do to start really getting the message out there
that cannabis is something that can provide a much safer and healthier option
to the deadly cocktails of medications that are currently a lot of veterans’
only options.

How has cannabis
benefited your life?

First and foremost, it saved my life. Cannabis made it to
where I can be the outgoing, caring, functional person that I am, not a drugged
out shell of myself, which is truly where I believe I would be without it.
Cannabis has also afforded me the opportunities to work alongside, and become
lifelong friends with some of those most inspirational and amazing people.

What’s your greatest
achievement for the cannabis cause?

Well, there are a few that I am very proud of, however I
think the biggest honor was being asked to be the 1st person in history to
purchase legal recreational cannabis from a dispensary.

How did that
manifest?

I worked with awesome people such as Mason Tvert for a few
years advocating the positive effects of cannabis with those suffering from
PTSD, doing conferences, interviews, rallies, and even being fortunate enough
to appear in an official campaign commercial. About a month before Jan 1, I
received an email from Mason, asking me if I’d like to be the 1st customer. I
was pretty taken aback, and honestly couldn’t think of a bigger honor.

Who do you look up to
or admire?

I look up to anyone who stands up for what they believe in,
and is willing to fight for it with everything they have.

If you could change
one thing about the way cannabis is viewed and/or treated right now, what would
it be?

It’s time we take cannabis off of the Schedule 1 drugs list.
This is something that is benefitting countless people, and now is the time to
start getting the much needed research done.