“…Early in his career, Scattini served in combat arms roles, including Tank & Scout platoon leader and Cavalry troop commander. His language skills and passion for foreign service led to positions overseas, including at the US Embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia. But it was his assignment in 2011, as a senior advisor to the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, that opened his eyes to the both the opportunity of hemp and the healing power of medical cannabis. At the time, the Afghans were using their country’s resources to grow and sell hashish on the black market to fund deadly explosives that were used to target American and coalition forces. Scattini was tasked with developing a strategy for how to redirect Afghanistan’s natural resources into new markets. His recommendation? Hemp. Though the idea didn’t take flight, Scattini became intrigued by the potential applications of cannabis. Says Scattini: “This is something that was fascinating on so many different levels—economy, employment, social justice, and medicine. I had to learn more.” The “Hemp Colonel” was born.
Scattini’s efforts to understand the depth and range of medical cannabis intensified when one of his former platoon leaders succumbed to a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs have become so pervasive that officials refer to them as a signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. “He died because they couldn’t stop the inflammation in his brain,” says Scattini. “I think there’s a chance we could have saved him.” Through extensive research, Scattini learned that components of the plant could be used as a neuroprotectant, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant…”