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Why Listen:
There is a major problem in the military Veteran community around over-medication, suicide, and drug dependancies. While in the Marine Corps, Steve realized this epidemic, which led him to start Warfighter Hemp. In this episode we talk about the legally approved, non-psychoactive CBD Oil that his company sells. While CBD Oil helps with anxiety and pain, it is non-addictive, and does not build up a tolerance in one’s body like many drugs do. Additionally, we talk about starting a company while having a full-time job and more. Steve is offering a 50% discount to the Beyond the Uniform audience at https://www.warfighterhemp.com/btu

About Steve:
After returning from a ground combat tour in Iraq with the Marine Corps, Steve spent the following year working wounded issues, primarily in the National Capitol Region at Walter Reed and Bethesda. Steve was so troubled by what he perceived as the over-medication of service members and Veterans that it led to him founding an all volunteer non- profit with the mission of addressing the myriad problems of what he believed would become long term crisis. Unfortunately, his fears materialized, and today’s Veterans suffer one of the highest suicide rates on record. Steve founded Warfighter Hemp based on what he learned from wounded Warfighters he has befriended over the past decade. He currently serves as an unpaid consultant for Warfighter Hemp, a Veteran founded and run business that provides CBD to the Veteran community. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserves as a LtCol in 2014. His wife Valerie still serves on active duty in the Marine Corps in the National Capitol Region and was recently promoted to the rank of full Colonel. 

Our Sponsor: 

• Steve offered a 50% discount to all Beyond the Uniform listeners in the month of November at https://www.warfighterhemp.com/btu

• StoryBox- People trust each other more than advertising. StoryBox provides the tools and supports businesses need to take the best things customers say about them, and use them to drive more sales and referrals. StoryBox offers a 10% discount to companies employing veterans of the US Armed Forces.

• Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Resources: 

• Warfighter Hemp

• Steve offered a 50% discount to all Beyond the Uniform listeners in the month of November at https://www.warfighterhemp.com/btu

• The Warfighter Hemp Info Group on Facebook

Transcript & Time Stamps:

 3:10

Joining me today from Alexandria, Virginia is Steve Stanyluk. After returning from a ground combat tour in Iraq with the Marine Corps, Steve spent the following year working wounded issues, primarily in the National Capitol Region at Walter Reed and Bethesda. Steve was so troubled by what he perceived as the over-medication of service members and Veterans that it led to him founding an all volunteer non-profit with the mission of addressing the myriad problems of what he believed would become long term crisis. Unfortunately, his fears materialized, and today’s veterans suffer one of the highest suicide rates on record. Steve founded Warfighter Hemp based on what he learned from wounded Warfighters he has befriended over the past decade. He currently serves as an unpaid consultant for Warfighter Hemp, a Veteran founded and run business that provides CBD to the Veteran community. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserves as a Lt. Colonel in 2014. His wife Valerie still serves on active duty in the Marine Corps in the National Capitol Region and was recently promoted to the rank of full Colonel.

4:50

Can you talk about the beginnings of War Fighter Hemp?

As you mentioned, I spent a lot of time working with wounded veterans at Walter Reed and in Bethesda. Something that was really obvious to me was that we were turning our young men and women into junkies. We were treating problems with pills.

So after I got out of the Marines, I started working as a commercial pilot. In my free time, I started about different ways to address the problem of veterans being over medicated. I realized that a lot of veterans were self-medicating with cannabis. So I started researching it more and to learn more about it.

There are two branches of cannabis - marijuana and hemp. The compound CBD is more prevalent in hemp than marijuana. There is THC in marijuana but not in hemp. There are medical uses for THC but the real medicinal qualities come from the CBD. Additionally, hemp is legal.

Through the Marine Corps network, I was introduced to a hemp farm in Colorado. So I went out there and made a pitch to the owners. They were extremely receptive. So we started operations there.

9:40

Fifty percent of sales at Warfighter Hemp goes back to the veteran community. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

The primary purpose of Warfighter Hemp is to give back to the community. We get a good rate for our product and we do the labeling and packaging. We try to target charities that come to us from our users. We’re about to write a grant to an organization that helps veterans going through rehabilitation. We keep in good communication with our customers and they make suggestions to us about where we should donate money.

12:20

What is the experience like using hemp?

About 60% of our users use it for PTSD and anxiety. But there are other uses as well. It lowers blood pressure for some people. There are people that use it to help with diabetes. Cancer patients use it as an anti-nausea medication.

The government frowns on cannabis but the National Cancer Institute has done a great deal of studies on the use of cannabis as a cancer treatment. But overall, it’s still very “unstudied”. And for this reason, it’s kind of like the Wild West out there. If you go to a dispensary, you may be getting a good product. But you might not. So you need to do your research and try different brands.

15:30

How do most people utilize CBD?

The tincture is the most common way to use it. It has the best absorption into your bloodstream. They are of varying strengths. The higher your pain level, the higher strength you will want to use.

The normal dosage is 1 ml per day. You put the 1ml of liquid under your tongue. Some people will do .5 ml in the morning and .5 ml. I tell people to try it for a couple weeks and see what they think. I also tell people to try a stronger dose and adjust from there.

It’s expensive but we do offer a 25% discount for veterans. We run specials on a regular basis as well.

18:30

This seems like it could be a great alternative to prescription pills.

Exactly. Not only are the prescribed medications addictive but you also build up a resistance. They also destroy your liver and other organs. With CBD, you don’t build up a tolerance. You just find the dosage that’s right for you and stick with that.

20:00

This seems almost “too good to be true”. Do you have any thoughts about why this isn’t more pervasive in pain treatment communities?

I think there’s a number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry that are not crazy about them. The FDA did approve a hemp based drug last month to treat seizures. It’s the exact same thing as our 3000 mg CBD but it’s ten times the price.

21:20

What has it been like working on this organization while also having a full-time job?

I’m very passionate about CBD and how it can really help people. You also have to keep a balance. I have a family and two young kids so when I’m home, I try to focus on them. I use time away from home to work on the company.

22:30

Any advice for people wanting to start their own business?

If you can do it without investing any of your own money in it, that’s the way to do it. It’s tough to do but it can be done.

At the beginning, we invested just a small amount of money to get our business going - less than $10,000. We didn’t have to pay for the product until later on.

24:34

Where do you see Warfighter Hemp going in the next year?

I hope we’re able to continue growing. There is a bill coming due in Congress that will provide additional clarity regarding the legality of hemp products. So if all of that goes well, we can start to place advertisements in magazine and on television.

25:42

How can people support you?

We can do a promo code for your listeners. We do a 50% discount for your listeners in the month of November.

I also encourage people to find us on Facebook. There is a ton of information sharing going on there and you can really learn a lot.

29:00

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our listeners?

I encourage people to write and call their Congress representatives and vote for the 2018 Hemp Act so that this can come out of the closet and be available to everyone and dissipate the stigma.