S5 E46: Traveling Toward Healing with, Gary Hess

S5 E46: Traveling Toward Healing with, Gary Hess

From The Conversation, Cannabis & Christianity podcast by Miguel Torrez

April 18, 2026 · 1h 12m

About this episode

Gary Hess discusses his journey with PTSD and the role of medical cannabis in recovery for veterans and trauma survivors.

Gary Hess is the founder and Executive Director of the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA), CEO of Teleleaf, and Founder of, Warrior Tribe Assembly – organizations he founded to help destigmatize and provide access to medical cannabis. Gary served in the Marine Corps for 11 years, both enlisted and as an Infantry Officer. After serving during the heaviest levels of fighting in Irag, Gary experienced the challenges of living with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and pharmaceutical dependency first-hand. He used cannabis not only to manage his conditions safely on his path to recovery, but also to catalyze and expedite Post-Traumatic Growth. He is now an advocate and activist for the use of medical cannabis in post-traumatic recovery – both for veterans and trauma survivors.

People in this episode

Host: Miguel Torrez

Guest: Gary Hess

Topics covered

  • medical cannabis
  • veterans
  • PTSD
  • trauma recovery
  • holistic health

Keywords

  • cannabis
  • PTSD
  • veterans
  • holistic alternatives
  • trauma recovery
  • mental health

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives, Teleleaf, Warrior Tribe Assembly

Places: Iraq

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