The Grateful Veteran -Non-Profit ORG. 501 c3

10/13/2026

If you're coming to the Red, White & Blue Tour in Spring Hill to see a physician about a medical cannabis card, you must have an appointment.

Here's how it works. Sign up at thegratefulveteran.org/tour/ . We text and email you the open times. Reply with the one you want, and we book it.

For a first card, approved veterans and first responders can see a physician at no cost, and we pay their Florida state fee. Approved family and friends can see a physician at no cost during the tour. Their state fee is not covered. You apply first, and we pay only after you are approved. A physician makes every medical determination, and we can't promise a card.

To talk with our team and the organizations at their tables, walk in any time: Thursday, October 22, 11 AM to 5 PM, VFW 10209, 14736 Edward R Noll Dr, Spring Hill.

Walk-in resource days for Florida veterans and first responders at VFW and American Legion halls. No cost to attend. A physician visit requires an appointment.

10/08/2026

Never been to a Red, White & Blue Tour stop? Here's what the day looks like.

It's for veterans and first responders, and the people who care about them. You walk in, you talk with a person, and you leave with a clearer next step. Veteran service organizations and community groups set up at their own tables, and different ones come to different stops. There's no cost to attend.

To see a physician about a medical cannabis card, you must have an appointment. What we bring, what we won't do, and how to book: thegratefulveteran.org/blog/what-happens-at-a-tour-stop/

Next stop: Thursday, October 22, 11 AM to 5 PM, VFW 10209, 14736 Edward R Noll Dr, Spring Hill.

Our VFW and American Legion stops cost nothing to attend. A physician visit requires an appointment. Here's who they're for, what we bring, what we won't do.

10/07/2026

We're going back to Tallahassee in 2027 to ask for a $15 medical ma*****na card fee for veterans. You can help without leaving home.

Want an email when it's time to act? Write to [email protected] with "Count me in" and your city.

Rep. Susan Valdés filed HB 887 for the 2026 session to lower the state fee from $75 to $15 for honorably discharged veterans. Our founder and president, Jeff DeMond, spoke in support of it at two of its three House committee stops, in January and February. All three committees approved it. We were in the House gallery on March 4, 2026, when HB 887 passed 113 to 0, and The Grateful Veteran was recognized from the floor.

The bill then died in the Senate, and so did SB 974, Sen. Keith Truenow's Senate bill for the same $15 fee. In Florida, the House and the Senate both have to pass the same bill, so the state fee is still $75.

The proposal would save honorably discharged veterans $60 on every new card or renewal. It changes the cost, not who qualifies. We've prepared our 2027 information packet for lawmakers and are working to find legislators in the House and the Senate to file a bill. No sponsor is confirmed yet, and no bill has been filed.

In our experience, there are moments in a session when numbers and presence make a real difference: many people writing in, and some of us in the room. When one of those moments comes, we'll post the bill number, the date and who to contact. Most of what helps happens from home:
Follow this Page for updates through the 2027 session.
Look up your state senator and state representative (the link below shows how).
When we put out the word, email or call your legislators in your own words.
If you're a veteran who has paid this fee, tell us at [email protected].
If you lead a veteran organization or a local post, email us for the packet.

How a bill becomes law, and everything you can do: https://thegratefulveteran.org/blog/back-to-tallahassee/

We're going back because Florida veterans deserve our support.

10/06/2026

A lot of veterans have been asking us about the proposed $15 Florida medical ma*****na card fee.

The proposal was real. HB 887 passed the Florida House 113–0, but it did not make it through the Senate, so the $15 fee did not become law.

The Grateful Veteran has been working directly in Tallahassee on this issue, and that advocacy continues.

Want to know what happened, what we’re asking for, and where we go from here?

Read our advocacy update:
thegratefulveteran.org/advocacy

Promoting Change Through Education.

We are asking the Florida Legislature to cut the $75 state medical ma*****na card fee to $15 for honorably discharged veterans. Here is where the bill stands.

10/05/2026

Spring Hill, Thursday, October 22: the Red, White & Blue Tour brings education and community resources to VFW 10209, for veterans, first responders, and the people who care about them.

VFW 10209, 14736 Edward R Noll Dr, Spring Hill, FL 34609
11 AM to 5 PM

Bring your questions. You'll get straight answers, with no pressure and nothing you have to buy. Walk in any time to talk with our team and the organizations at their tables. There's no cost to attend.

If you're coming to see a physician about a medical cannabis card, you must have an appointment. Sign up at thegratefulveteran.org/tour/ and we'll text and email you the open times. Reply with the one you want, and we book it.

Walk-in resource days for Florida veterans and first responders at VFW and American Legion halls. No cost to attend. A physician visit requires an appointment.

10/03/2026

Coffee & Conversations is this morning, Saturday, October 3, 8 to 10 AM, at American Legion Post 38-Rabe O Wilkison Chapter, 1857 Jackson Street, Fort Myers. It's coffee and conversation for veterans and first responders, with no agenda and no sign-up. Come to talk, or just to listen.

10/02/2026

Walk with us in the City of Cape Coral Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 7.

We meet at 9 AM in the Old Military Museum parking lot on Leonard Street. Then we check in and line up together. The parade starts at 11 AM and heads west on Cape Coral Parkway, from Cape Coral Street to Chester Street.

Everyone is welcome to walk with us, and we'll have T-shirts for walkers who need one. We walked in this parade in 2024 and 2025, and we'd be glad to have you with us this year.

Please sign up so we know how many people are walking. We'll email the city's 2026 check-in details to everyone who signs up as soon as we have them:

https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/d/e/1FAIpQLSdq7IWgQ0zU0mEeOYstP_kxx_kKutq23Na0w5uDzt4vrAHmsg/viewform?usp=send_form&pli=1&authuser=0

10/02/2026

Saturday morning in Fort Myers: coffee and conversation for veterans and first responders.

Coffee & Conversations: Saturday, October 3, 8 to 10 AM
American Legion Post 38-Rabe O Wilkison Chapter, 1857 Jackson Street, Fort Myers

There is no agenda and no sign-up. Come to talk, or just to listen.