May 2026
Pushing Through
Every day, we pass people who are carrying far more than anyone around them realizes.
Some are navigating chronic pain that never fully goes away. Some are trying to quiet racing thoughts long enough to sleep through the night. Some are balancing financial strain, relationship stress, burnout, loneliness, or the lingering weight of experiences they have carried for years. Many continue showing up for work, for family, for responsibilities, doing what they have always done: pushing through.
And often, they do it quietly.
Expanding Our Reach
That reality continues to shape one of the most important questions in veteran suicide prevention work today: How do we reach the people who need us most?
It is a question that sounds simple on the surface, but the longer you work in this space, the more complex it becomes. Awareness alone is not enough. Resources alone are not enough. Even well-designed systems and good intentions do not guarantee connection.
The reality is that some veterans are not deeply connected to traditional systems of care or support. Some had negative experiences in the past. Some do not identify with needing “help.” Some are managing stress in ways that feel normal to them because they have done it for years. Others simply do not see themselves as needing support.
That does not mean they are disconnected from the community or unreachable. It means we have to think more carefully about where a connection can begin.
Learning From Loss to Strengthen Prevention
Across Arizona, that question has become an increasingly important part of the work happening through the Veteran Suicide Mortality Review Team (VSMRT). Month after month, professionals from different disciplines come together to review cases, examine missed opportunities, and ask difficult but necessary questions about what prevention efforts might look like earlier, upstream, and closer to everyday life.
The purpose of this work is not simply retrospective analysis. It is about learning from loss, recognizing patterns, and translating insight into action while there is still time to make a difference for someone else.
As a group, we continue testing new approaches to reach veterans who might otherwise remain disconnected. Recently, the team uncovered that in about half of the cases reviewed, there was known marijuana use. So, we asked, “Where are these veterans?” and we began reaching out to licensed marijuana dispensaries. If veterans are already in these spaces, we wondered whether we could work collaboratively to create a way for dispensaries to also serve as pathways to information, connection, and support. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Dispensaries expressed a strong desire to be part of outreach to veterans and to expand pathways to connection.
Recognizing a Changing Healthcare Reality
Veterans are not alone in seeking alternatives to alcohol and prescriptions for stress management, chronic pain, sleep disruption, and overall well-being. Millions of Americans use cannabis for relief that, until recently, existed outside of medical research and healthcare discussions.
Arizona’s work recognized this evolving public health pattern early. The Suicide Mortality Review Team paid close attention to behavioral patterns and the community touchpoints connected to them. In doing so, the team recognized an emerging healthcare reality: prevention work cannot remain confined to traditional environments if the goal is to reach as many veterans as possible.
As our effort in Arizona was underway for several months, in April 2026, the Department of Justice announced actions moving certain state-regulated medical marijuana products into Schedule III, expanding pathways for formal medical research. This follows a December 18, 2025, Executive Order from the President that articulated a policy to “increase medical marijuana and CBD research to better inform patients and doctors.”
As recently as May 14, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan amendment allowing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to issue medical marijuana recommendations to veterans in states where it is legal.
These announcements reinforce the adaptive public health approach already underway in Arizona. This recognition of the changing healthcare realities with marijuana therapy will, in turn, help us better learn and adjust as we move down this innovative path of evidence-informed public health engagement and upstream suicide prevention.
Community Touchpoints
Dispensaries are community touchpoints, serving as places where veterans spend time regularly. They’re also places where a supportive message may create an opening for connection that otherwise might never occur.
For some veterans, a postcard tucked into their purchase may become a bridge to additional support or services. For others, it may simply serve as a reminder that someone is checking in, paying attention, and cares.
Not every meaningful connection starts in a clinic or formal program. Sometimes it begins the moment someone realizes they don’t have to carry everything on their own.
Sometimes support starts somewhere unexpected.
Learn More
- Blog: Postvention & Suicide Mortality Review
- Blog: Suicide Mortality Review Team
- Blog: Veteran Suicide Mortality Review
- Executive Order: Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research
- Press Release: Department of Justice announcement April 23, 2026
- Video: 2nd Session of the 119th Congress – Amendment 23
- Video: Oval Office announcement of rescheduling marijuana
- Video: Representative Dina Titus comments on the proposed amendment
- Web Page: Arizona Department of Health Services Suicide Mortality Review Team
- Web Page: A connection point for veterans
