CEO & Founder Jason Ambrosino working in the Veterans Choice Creations factory.
Photo courtesy of Veterans Choice Creations
In Gloversville, New York, Veterans Choice Creations started as a means to bring cannabis to veterans suffering from PTSD.
CEO & Founder Jason Ambrosino served in the United States Army for 10 years before medically retiring in 2014. Ambrosino told amNewYork that because of injuries he sustained overseas, he was given a myriad of medications for severe neck and back pain.
“They had me on a lot of different medications, a lot of gabapentin and the typical combination that the military sees,” said Ambrosino. “It turned me into a zombie, I couldn’t handle it.”
Because of all the medication, Ambrosino said that when he worked for his father’s electric company post-military, he was an awful employee; he would be high as a result of the meds and couldn’t get to work on time, couldn’t drive and was super groggy all the time.
Jason AmbrosinoPhoto courtesy of Veterans Choice Creations
Determined not to allow this way of living to control him forever, Ambrosino turned to cannabis and psychedelics in an effort to get off all of the medications entirely.
“I found this book called ‘Acid Test’ by a guy named Tom Schroeder, and that book essentially went over the therapeutic uses of psychedelics and cannabis. Three categories that it specifically talked about were LSD, MDMA and marijuana, and it covered a number of different trauma situations throughout the book,” said Ambrosino. “There was a number of these individuals, and they had these stories and you could follow their experience through the use of the psychedelics, the MDMA and the marijuana. What it taught me was that everything I thought I knew was more than likely a lie, and then I had to reevaluate everything, really.”
Ambrosino was ultimately successful in weaning himself off all the medication, and he wanted to be able to help fellow veterans (as well as anyone suffering from pain or PTSD) have an avenue besides pharmaceuticals to help aid their mental and physical health.
“The cannabis got me off of all the medications I was on. I was able to go to sleep at night. I was able to go to the gym again. I was able to function without having an absolutely cloudy head,” said Ambrosino. “I began a campaign of reaching out to folks around me that I knew had certain opinions about cannabis, and trying to change their opinions on cannabis through the fact that I was a retired army officer and what it was doing for me. So I guess on some levels, that’s where I began some levels of advocacy.”
Veterans Choice Creations has a variety of different cannabis products.Photo courtesy of Veterans Choice Creations
After working in underground markets for a few years, Ambrosino officially started Veterans Holdings, the parent company of Veterans Choice Creations, in 2022. He had been dabbling already with CBD products and once THC recreational use became legal, they began to develop products utilizing it.
In addition to Veterans Choice Creations, Veterans Holdings also houses brands such as Pot & Head, New York Honey, Mildly Moronic and Spacebuds Moon Rocks, with products ranging from pre-rolls, flower, vapes, edibles, topicals and tinctures with homegrown, premium cannabis. Ambrosino says that all of the products are made in small batches to really focus on quality over quantity.
“We don’t like material sitting around for more than 3 or 4 weeks, so this is the primary reason we keep those batches between 1 and 2000 units,” said Ambrosino.
For Ambrosino, accessibility is the core of his business. As he was rolling out more products, Ambrosino was more focused on not pricing out his customer base, even when he could potentially sell a product for a higher price.
All of the cannabis products are made in small batches to focus on quality over quantity.Photo courtesy of Veterans Choice Creations
“It is very hard to compete with somebody who’s selling the same product I am for $15 and you have to pay $35, $40 or $50 or whatever. That’s not a good way to build a customer base, it’s not a good way to move people from the black market to the legal market, and if I was going to be serious myself about moving from the black market to the legal market, I need my customers to come with me,” said Ambrosino. “I believe that there’s certain products in cannabis that are straight commodity products, and when you’re talking about distillate vapes, they’re straight commodity products. We wanna move people from the black market, and I promise you that you’re not gonna move people from the black market by saying, ‘Oh well, our stuff is tested.’ Nobody cares. They don’t care, they want tasty quality material at the cheapest price they can get it.”
Over the years, Veterans Holdings products have reached over 270 dispensaries, and the company was recognized as #125 on the Inc. 5000 list in 2025, reflecting 2,858% three-year revenue growth. Even still, the accessible aspect of the business is something that Ambrosino will let go of as well as bringing more to the community they serve.
“What makes it really unique is that we did it all with no help, no funding, no outside money, no outside capital — just grit, determination, pricing things at the right point, keeping cash flow going, making good business decisions, and having a mission, and the mission being to bring jobs to Gloversville and grow and expand the quality of life for the people that live there,” said Ambrosino.
For more information, visit veteranschoicecreations.com.