MARIJUANA ACTIVIST NAMED TO OUTREACH POST

Rockingham native and activist Perry Parks was recently appointed to
an official position with the North Carolina Cannabis Patients'
Network (NCCPN).

He will serve the non-profit as its Veterans Outreach Specialist.

"First of all, I want to fight to get the same rights for veterans in
this state that veterans who live in other states already have,"
Parks said. "We are still being penalized, and this is an injustice
to veterans everywhere that we are still being denied the same
benefits veterans in other states enjoy."

He pointed out Veterans Affairs has amended its policy to withhold
medications from veterans who test positive for marijuana in states
where it has been approved for medical use. The legislatures of 14
U.S. states have approved the use of the natural product for medicinal use.

"I am being denied the use of what I feel to be the best medication,
the least destructive to my health, not because of who I am, but
because of where I live," Parks said.

The organization's director called attention to the state legislation
that would provide for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal
purposes in welcoming Parks on board.

It is named House Bill 1380, and is now in the House's Health Committee.

"We are pleased and honored to have Mr. Perry Parks join our team as
Veterans Outreach Director," NCCPN Executive Director Jean Marlowe
said in a release. "Opposition to this bill is dwindling as our
lawmakers educate themselves to the science and research now
available, and we are feeling a true desire in the General Assembly
to pass this bill for the patients who need it."

With over 385 members/patients from each of the state's 100 counties,
NCCPN is the largest and fastest growing medical marijuana
organization in the state, the release said.

The organization believes providing safe, legal access for medical
marijuana patients would benefit the state, the patients, the
healthcare community and society.

She said many of the nearly 400 members and patients have a military
background.

"We have a lot of Vietnam veterans and veterans of the Iraq War," she
said. "We don't have as many World War II veterans, but there are some."

She said many of the Vietnam veterans, especially, have long
recognized the benefits of using the plant, but didn't necessarily
consider it medication.

"It's only after research started coming out, and states started to
legalize it for medicinal purposes that they realized it is a
medicine," she said. "They were just using it to go to sleep without
the painful and disturbing dreams. Many of them also suffer from
nerve damage and muscle spasms, and they report that it's the only
medicine that gives them any relief at all."

Marlowe also said she recently received a phone call from a veteran
who is from North Carolina but currently living in California,
thanking her for her work.

"There are many veterans who want to come home, but they can't
because their medicine is illegal here and they open themselves up to
not being protected equally under the law," she said. "These men's
dignity and rights are being held hostage by our state legislators.
They know the state of North Carolina distributes medical marijuana
to four people in the United States, but they are not being afforded
the equal protection and treatment under the law they deserve and
were given in the Constitution."

On June 18, Parks testified before the House Health Committee that
the use of marijuana has allowed him to cope with a degenerative disc
condition in his back more effectively than any opiate-based or
synthetic pain medication he's been prescribed by a doctor.

He has appeared in news articles from the Daily Journal and
Associated Press, as well as multiple radio spots including an
interview on Charlotte Talks advocating medical marijuana.

Parks was a highly decorated soldier during his 28 years of military
service, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars and
four awards of the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device.

He also served as a safety professional with the National Guard,
Federal Aviation Administration and Murphy Farms.