Jeff Staker spent 11 years in the Marines as a sniper. He served in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield.

He’s a 51-year-old father of five and grandfather of five who quotes Sun-Tzu’s “The Art of War.”

And he’s a leading advocate for medical marijuana in Indiana.

For six years, a medical marijuana bill hasn’t even made it to a committee hearing in the Indiana legislature. But Staker and others see the tide turning, perhaps even in Indiana. Last summer, the national American Legion, headquartered in Indianapolis, asked Congress to remove marijuana from a list of drugs with no medical purpose.

On Sunday, the Indiana American Legion approved a resolution supporting the national American Legion’s position and calling on Indiana’s legislature to “remove restrictions from marijuana and reclassify it in a category that, at a minimum, will recognize cannabis as a drug with potential medical value.”

Staker’s foray into political lobbying started with founding Hoosier Veterans for Medical Cannabi, and is based on a simple idea. [Read more at Indy Star]