Shane Terry: Veteran and Cannabis Advocate

Anyone who’s measuring the progressive success of cannabis reform across these American states and the subsequent billion-dollar industry that has arisen partially from that steadfast advocacy for reform must always recognize the power of veterans in those successes. From all branches and nearly all ranks of the United States Armed Forces, our brave veterans have become a strong and obviously very persuasive battalion in the continued fight for cannabis reform of all types, especially on the medical expansion side. Their captivating and oftentimes quite harrowing stories of both serving in the military and the litany of physical and mental health problems they face, are able to appeal to even some of the most anti-cannabis representatives who still backhandedly claim that they “support the troops”.

Despite the disadvantageous fact that physicians employed by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs are federally prohibited from officially prescribing or discussing cannabis with their patients, those same veterans are making themselves known and assisting to accomplish widely sweeping local and state-level cannabis reform measures as a result. Although there’s no definite time frame of the supposed federal rescheduling of cannabis other than “after the presidential election”, it’s a safe assumption that veteran advocacy groups were undoubtedly instrumental in the decision to reschedule.   

One such veteran-turned cannabis advocate and astute businessman who’s used his platform as the CEO and Co-Founder of the massively successful TapRoot Brands to advocate for continuously expanding cannabis reform is Shane Terry. 

“We named it that because the taproot is the first root that sprouts from a seed. It becomes the anchor root from which all the rest of the root system branches out from.” Terry explained. “And that’s what we wanted to represent – the grounding presence that would build a community of connected roots.”

Interestingly, he served in one of the most heart-pounding and dangerous aerial units in the Air Force, and the division of the Air Force that became arguably the most famous division due to a decade-defining Tom Cruise film from 1986 with the most 80’s-tastic soundtrack imaginable.

Luckily for Terry, he felt the need, the need for speed. “I was an F-16 fighter pilot, which was a bit of a bait and switch after watching Top Gun when I was a kid. No motorcycles, no beach volleyball, girls don’t care to hear about jets and for every hour of flying, there’s about 12 hours of planning, briefing and debriefing!” he humorously recounted. “I loved what I did in the military and especially the F-16. I was lucky enough to be stationed in Korea so we flew all over Asia, did about 3 years in Italy, and then came back to Nellis Air Force Base here in Vegas. I also did tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and a few other places around the Middle East. I also had a pretty unique role in the F-16 and specialized in Close Air Support (CAS) and was one of the only Forward Air Controllers (FAC-A).”

While his time in the Air Force was certainly exciting and he received noteworthy accomplishments such as graduating number one in his class at the Air Force Weapons School, Terry faced his own noticeable struggles when returning to civilian life.  

“Honestly my biggest struggle was just letting go a bit and understanding the rest of the civilian world doesn’t always move at a combat pace. There’s a brotherhood and sisterhood in the military that just holds a unique place in soul that can’t be replaced with anything else. I guess that’s what comes with the territory when you literally trust the person next to you with your life every day. And that also creates a sense of self-responsibility because if I’m not on my game, or I’m not able to do exactly what’s required of me at any given time in the military, then I’m putting someone else’s life at risk. Of course we never took that responsibility lightly. But thankfully we don’t have to live on that same edge in the civilian world, although I’ll admit there are definitely times where I feel like I’m in a battle in this industry.”

Terry first became interested in working in cannabis before medical dispensaries were even open in Nevada, however the plant itself and being gainfully employed in the eventual Nevada cannabis industry symbolized far more than just a simple paycheck to Terry.      

“To me cannabis represented the change that I wanted to see in our society.” he described. “Plant medicines have been an incredible source for me to process some of the things of my past, and of course cannabis is part of that family. I always joke that cannabis IS a gateway drug, but not with the negative connotations that you typically hear. Cannabis opened the door for our society to have a relationship with plant medicines without having to lurk in the shadows.   

The conversations back in 2014 represented not only political and drug reform, but a social movement, a culture, an art. It represented our win against prohibition, and freedom of expression. I also thought that cannabis would be such a strong economic platform that we could use that to influence and inspire change in our communities, and that cannabis companies could lead by example and show that there’s a different way to do business than what we typically see from the corporate giants.”

Since the company’s founding, the Roots brands has won some considerable awards, such as Las Vegas Weekly’s 2022 Best of Vegas awards for Best Vape and Best Extract. To their award-winning credit, the diversity of their produced cartridges range greatly, from their rich full-flavored hash oil Black Line to the crystal clear distillate White Line and the fittingly named full spectrum extract Earth Line. And quite like the most effectively elite squad of super soldiers, Terry admits that a successful cannabis business such as TapRoot requires a complex yet detailed and multi-faceted approach to their operations as well as employees dedicated to completing a successful mission.  

“We have some exceptionally talented people in our lab that have dedicated their lives to learning how to get the plant to express herself in the most beautiful and delicate ways. We pride ourselves in focusing on creating natural products without needing to adulterate or add things to it, the way the plant was supposed to be enjoyed. We also have an incredibly talented sales and marketing team that is able to create art through design and storytelling. Then of course we have people with exceptional attention to detail that takes all that magic, packages it up and makes sure it finds its way to the dispensary shelves so people can actually enjoy it.

Well, I guess similar to my military days of doing close air support. If I can provide the top cover to allow the rest of the team to make the real magic happen, then that’s a contribution I can be proud of.” 

As for his fellow veterans, Terry strongly encourages them to use their voice and platform as honorable individuals who’ve valiantly served this country to speak with those stubborn yet crucial elected officials who remain skeptical about medicinal cannabis use.

“There’s also a sort of respect that’s given to veterans by people that tend to be more conservative with their socio-political views. Especially early on with legalization, I’d always find there would be a few elected officials that were surprised that someone with a military background would be involved in the industry. So I used my story and background to de-stigmatize cannabis to those that felt like they could relate more to me than to someone that’s been growing in Humboldt for the last few decades and just came down from the mountain. So in that sense, we all, vets especially, have an opportunity to be an ambassador for the plant and the movement that follows it.”