Helping Vets Like Him

Izzy Irizarry knew as early as his teenage years that he wanted to join the military. He joined the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) as a student at Old Bridge High School, Old Bridge, N.J., to get his first taste of a military education. By the time he was 17, he was ready for the real deal; with his parents’ permission, Irizarry enlisted in the U.S. Army.
It was there where Irizarry first had the opportunity to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), the exam that identifies the roles in which a particular soldier might excel.
“I scored very highly on my ASVABs … and I became a military intelligence analyst for five years,” Irizarry said. During his time in the Army, Irizarry served as a military intelligence analyst for the 305th MI brigade, as well as managed security clearances for the 78th infantry division in Fort Dix, NJ.
But when his service came to an end, returning to civilian life proved much easier said than done, triggering a bout with depression that eventually led him to medical cannabis.
Returning to civilian life as “the most difficult thing”
After Irizarry left the Army, he struggled to find consistent work. He said making the switch from military to civilian life was “the most difficult thing ever.”
“I kind of started getting down on my luck,” he said. “I was doing so many different jobs, everything from milling and paving on the [New Jersey Turnpike] to cutting trees to landscaping to pumping gas, but nothing was really making ends meet.”
Eventually, Irizarry landed a job with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), a federal position he said came with good pay and benefits. But as time went on, he found he was unhappy and longed for something more meaningful.
“I was miserable,” he said. “I just felt like I wasn’t really fulfilling my life and I became very, very depressed.”
Irizarry explained how difficult the transition back to civilian life can be for any veteran, and cited the high number of veteran suicides in the U.S. Veterans are nearly twice as likely to commit suicide as the average American civilian, something Irizarry said he knows about intimately from his time in the Army.
“When I was in my unit, that’s what I did; I advocated for mental health,” he said. “I was in the [Army ACE Suicide Intervention] program and I helped out my battle buddies, my teammates in my unit whenever they needed to talk. I just never thought I was going to be the one that needed help.”
In search of relief, he became a registered patient under New Jersey’s medical cannabis program, called the NJMMP for short. Irizarry found medical cannabis effective, but he was concerned that his federal job was jeopardized by his status as a registered medical marijuana patient. He resolved to leave the NJMMP for the sake of protecting his job to set his mind at ease — until a friend offered an alternative path.
A surprise opportunity to join the cannabis industry
Ethos employee Santiago Sanchez was a friend of Irizarry’s, and when he heard about how unhappy Irizarry was at the post office, he saw an opportunity to add new talent to the Ethos Allentown team.
“He was like ‘no, you have an excellent work ethic and would fit in here at Ethos really well,’” Irizarry said. “So I applied, and the stars were aligning and it was really great because the opportunity has been incredible; I’ve been welcomed by the team so greatly and I truly believe this job has saved my life.”
For Irizarry, the role of cannabis product associate at Ethos Allentown did just that. Not only did the job help him obtain the knowledge and high quality cannabis products needed to help him manage his own depression, but also a purposeful role in helping patients find relief and improve their quality of life just like he had found with cannabis, he said.
“I get humbled every day when I see somebody who truly needs my help,” Irizarry said. “It reminds me why I am here and why I do what I do. I get up every day and I’m excited to go to work.”
Paying it forward to cannabis patients in need
Finding not only relief in cannabis but also his purpose, Irizarry now feels invigorated and has dedicated himself to learning more and helping patients like him. A major focus in his role is establishing a collaborative relationship between the patients and the staff, Irizarry said.
“I’ve learned so much about terpenes and cannabinoids and their symbiotic relationship with each other and how that can help ailments,” he said. “And just learning through the patients themselves and what’s worked for them and what hasn’t, just doing these little after action reports with them.”
That’s especially true for other veterans, who Irizarry said he shares common ground with and can understand some of the pressures of serving in the military and transitioning back to a civilian life. Using some of the same techniques he learned in supporting and empathizing with his compatriots in the military, Irizarry finds comfort in assisting the patients of Ethos to get the best possible product for their needs, particularly veterans like himself.
“When veterans come to the cannabis community and get educated on these products, they realize they’re able to find that relief without having so many side effects [from other medications],” Irizarry said.