Our Story

The Bridge to Veteran Wellness

The Mission Was Always Clear, But the Path Was Complicated

Rob and I knew the veteran community was in a unique kind of crisis, stuck between a healthcare system that remains silent on plant medicine due to federal restrictions and a desperate need for alternatives to the “pill-heavy” status quo. Because the VA can’t speak to veterans about cannabis, we knew we had to be the bridge.

We started by getting creative. We began reaching out, building networks, and if I’m being honest, I started “stalking” local veteran organizations on LinkedIn to find the leaders who weren’t afraid to innovate. That is where our story truly begins, with the man who would become our new best friend: RO Gonzalez.

We first connected with RO last Labor Day via LinkedIn. There was an immediate resonance, and he asked to meet in person. When we sat down, RO didn’t just give us a resume; he gave us his life story. He described a version of himself that felt a world away from the man sitting in front of us. He had been in bad shape, surviving on a cocktail of 12 different medications. He knew deep down that if he didn’t make a drastic change, he wasn’t going to make it. He was a man looking for a lifeline.

That lifeline came through a veteran-owned cannabis edible company called Baked Bros. They introduced RO to their products, providing him with samples that eventually altered the course of his life. The results were nothing short of miraculous. By integrating medical cannabis, RO was able to navigate his way off the “poly-pharmacy” treadmill, dropping from 12 daily pills down to just two.

“When a Veteran Asks for Help, You Step Up!”

Cannabis saved RO’s life. But instead of just walking away with his own wellness, he turned to Rob and I at WeedWorks and asked a question that changed everything: “Will you help me educate veterans on medical cannabis?” When a veteran comes to you and asks for help, there is only one answer. You step up!

WeedWorks was originally built from my own personal struggle, the roadblocks I faced while trying to navigate my mother off opioids and onto medical cannabis. Whether you are a senior, a veteran, or anyone struggling to understand how plant medicine works with the human body, our mission at WeedWorks is to remove those barriers.

In his drive to give back, RO created Valor’s Veterans Community AZ, a local non-profit dedicated to empowering, helping, and providing resources to veterans. Together, our two organizations have a combined mission. We recognize that many people either feel negatively about cannabis or use it in a non-therapeutic way; this education, this expo, and this mission are here to destigmatize cannabis. We are here to make sure veterans understand their rights and the proper, therapeutic ways to use cannabis as medicine.

Our expos are designed to educate on all plant wellness. We believe that healing is not a “one size fits all” journey. While medical cannabis is a powerful tool, we aim to provide resources across the entire plant wellness space, from adaptogens and mushrooms to holistic herbs. Our goal is to empower people to make their own educated decisions. We don’t want to tell you what to take; we want to give you the information to decide what works best for your body and your lifestyle.

In response to RO’s call to action, we launched our first-ever Veteran Stand Down last November. The event was a massive success, catching the attention of ABC15 News and leading to an invitation for Rob and me to appear on Montel Williams’ podcast, Let’s Be Blunt.

We were also honored to be joined by Poppa Snoop, Snoop Dogg’s father and a 3-time Purple Heart Vietnam Veteran. Now an Arizona resident, Poppa Snoop has made it his mission to support his fellow vets. He even led a guided bus tour to Sol-Flower Dispensary, helping veterans navigate their first experience with plant medicine in a safe, guided environment.

The demand for this life-saving education has grown faster than we ever imagined. To accommodate our community, we are moving our next event to the El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium & Conference Center on July 25th. We are expanding the mission with a professional livestream and watch-party elements to ensure this vital education reaches every veteran who needs it, regardless of where they are.

Our veterans gave everything for us. Now, we are giving our everything to help them find a better way to heal and live a better quality of life.