The former Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill who nailed Osama bin Laden has gone from killing to chilling.
The former U.S. Navy SEAL who fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden has traded combat for cannabis.
Robert O’Neill, a veteran of SEAL Team 6, is now entering the marijuana industry with his brand, Operator Canna Co. Set to launch in New York City dispensaries, the brand aligns with O’Neill’s mission to support veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and provide an alternative to traditional medications.
“I wanted to get into the cannabis business through my experience in the military and watching vets suffer from things like post-traumatic stress disorder,” O’Neill said.
“It’s a good way to take the edge off. It helps to get rid of the noise,” the budding owner said.
O’Neill acknowledged that marijuana was the last thing on his mind serving as a Navy SEAL commando, noting pot and other drugs are verboten in the military.
“One of the general rules in the military is ‘zero tolerance,’ ” he said of drugs.
But the freshly minted cannabis merchant quipped that pot could help also defuse much of America’s nasty, divisive political discourse.
“If we take cannabis, we can have better conversations. We have the potential for world peace right here,” he said.
O’Neill counts his blessings that he’s still alive, thinking at the time that bin Laden had explosives that would kill the team of Navy SEAL commandos sent to take him out.
“I thought that would be my last day on Earth: We’re going to kill him, and he’s going to kill us,” O’Neill said.
“We were able to fulfill the mission,” he said gratefully.
A former SEAL Team 6 member, O’Neill became famous when he took credit for firing the shots that killed 9/11 mastermind bin Laden during a daring 2011 covert raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
