American Legion Magazine Spotlights Downtowns, Thomas Paine and VA Cannabis Research

On the America’s Work Force Union Podcast, American Legion’s Director of Media and Communications, Jeff Stoffer, joined host Ed “Flash” Ferenc for an update on the upcoming issue of the American Legion Magazine. The discussion moved from the post-pandemic transformation of America’s downtowns and the collapse in office-building valuations to the opportunities and limits of converting commercial towers into housing, including the urgency of affordable housing options for veterans.

Stoffer also previewed a feature that frames Thomas Paine as an early figure in mass communication whose pamphlets helped shape public opinion at a pivotal moment in U.S. history. The segment closed with an update on the American Legion’s long-running push to remove barriers to federally supported cannabis research for medical efficacy, particularly for veterans facing PTSD, TBI and chronic pain.

• American Legion Magazine tracks the post-pandemic downtown reset as office valuations fall and cities pursue mixed-use redevelopment.
• Veteran housing needs intersect with downtown revitalization as homelessness rises and incentives for affordable units expand.
• The American Legion continues advocating for expanded medical research access to evaluate cannabis for veteran health conditions.

The third Friday of the month has become a familiar marker for listeners of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast: a conversation with the American Legion Director of Media and Communications, Jeff Stoffer. He shared highlights from the next issue of the American Legion Magazine and the issues shaping veterans, workers and the communities they return to.

Stoffer outlined three storylines that, taken together, map a changing national landscape — the rapid evolution of America’s downtowns after the COVID-19 era, a historical feature on Thomas Paine’s outsized role in early American mass persuasion and a policy update on efforts to reduce federal barriers to cannabis research for medical efficacy.

While the topics ranged from urban planning to revolutionary-era publishing to veteran health policy, each carried a common thread: how institutions respond when the ground shifts under them — and how working people and veterans experience those changes first.

American Legion Magazine on America’s Downtowns and Remote Work

Stoffer said the magazine commissioned a deep dive into the state of America’s downtowns as cities adjust to hybrid work and the long tail of pandemic-era disruption.

The reporting, led by writer Alan Greenblatt, focused on a central reality city leaders and local economies can no longer ignore: office workers are returning, but not in the same numbers or with the same daily patterns that once sustained downtown business districts.

Hybrid schedules have altered foot traffic, retail demand and transit rhythms. More consequentially, they have changed the financial math of downtown real estate. Stoffer pointed to sharply declining office-building valuations as a defining signal that the pre-2020 model is not simply “coming back.”

In practical terms, that shift affects far more than landlords. It reshapes municipal budgets, public services and the ecosystem of small businesses that depend on weekday density.

American Legion Magazine Highlights Office Building Valuation Collapse

One of the story’s most striking themes is the speed and scale of value declines in major city office towers.

Stoffer described an example used to open the feature: a prominent downtown Portland office building that sold for a fraction of its prior purchase price roughly a decade earlier. The point is not the building itself, but what it represents — a national trend where commercial properties that once anchored tax bases now face steep reassessments.

The downstream impact is significant. When valuations fall, property tax revenue can drop with them. Cities then face pressure to maintain services with less predictable revenue, even as they are asked to invest in revitalization strategies.

Stoffer also referenced a case in St. Louis where a building’s value reportedly fell dramatically over the COVID period, illustrating how quickly the commercial real estate market can reprice risk.

Veterans, Affordable Housing and Downtown Homelessness Trends

Host Ed “Flash” Ferenc connected the downtown story to a persistent national challenge: affordable housing, especially for veterans.

Stoffer said the connection is direct. As downtowns evolve, they remain major economic hubs in many states, particularly across the Midwest. For veterans transitioning out of service — a steady annual flow of people reentering civilian life — the question is not abstract: where will they live and where will they work?

Stoffer noted that downtown homelessness has increased by more than 20 percent since 2023, even as other public-safety metrics have improved in many cities. The divergence underscores the complexity of downtown conditions and the need for policy responses that address housing stability alongside economic redevelopment.

Some cities, Stoffer said, have introduced incentives to expand affordable housing in downtown cores. For veterans, the stakes are heightened by the intersecting realities of disability, trauma recovery and the need for stable access to services.

Urban Institute Research and the Mixed-Use Downtown Model

Stoffer said the story draws on perspectives from researchers and practitioners who study downtowns and work in revitalization.

A key takeaway is that change in downtowns is not new in U.S. history, but the current pace appears unusually fast. The combination of remote work, shifting consumer behavior, and commercial real estate repricing has accelerated decisions that might otherwise have unfolded over decades.

One model gaining traction is mixed-use redevelopment — transforming downtown blocks into places where people live, work, shop and gather outside the traditional 9-to-5 office cadence.

Stoffer noted that stadium districts and sports-venue corridors have been redeveloped in many Midwestern cities into themed, walkable neighborhoods that blend housing, entertainment, and retail. These projects can create new density, but they also raise questions about affordability and who benefits from redevelopment.

Converting Office Towers to Housing: Costs and Constraints

A major barrier to downtown housing conversion is structural.

Stoffer emphasized that while repurposing an existing building can be less expensive than new construction, converting large office towers into livable housing is not straightforward. Some buildings were designed with deep floor plates and limited access to exterior windows — a problem when housing requires light, ventilation and code-compliant layouts.

As a result, the cost of reconfiguration can be substantial. The challenge for cities is to create conditions where conversion is feasible without producing only high-end units that fail to address affordability.

Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin and Early Mass Communication

The segment then shifted to a feature that Stoffer said frames Thomas Paine as an early example of a media influencer — not in the modern sense of social platforms, but as a communicator whose work moved rapidly through the public.

Stoffer described Paine’s arrival in the colonies after Benjamin Franklin's encouragement and his subsequent role in shaping public opinion through pamphleteering.

Paine’s most famous work, Common Sense, was a short publication that helped crystallize arguments for independence and circulated widely through direct ownership and public readings in community spaces.

For a labor audience, the relevance is not merely historical. The story highlights how ideas travel, how persuasion works and how communication infrastructure — printing presses then, digital platforms now — can shift the balance of public debate.

American Legion Magazine on Civic Literacy and the Semi-Quincentennial

Stoffer noted that the magazine’s editorial calendar is also attentive to the broader national focus on the country’s founding era as the semi-quincentennial approaches.

The framing is less about nostalgia and more about civic literacy: understanding how foundational arguments were made, how public opinion was built and why communication strategies mattered.

American Legion and VA Cannabis Research: Removing Barriers

The final portion of the discussion addressed veteran health policy and the American Legion’s long-standing interest in expanding federally supported research into cannabis for medical efficacy.

Stoffer said the organization has been engaged on the issue since at least the early 2010s, when it formed task forces to study what it called signature wounds of war, including PTSD and TBI.

He emphasized that the American Legion does not promote illegal drug use. The focus, rather, is on research access — the ability of the federal government and affiliated institutions to study medical efficacy and determine where cannabis-based therapies may or may not be appropriate.

Stoffer also highlighted chronic pain as a major concern for veterans and described how veteran testimony has repeatedly pressed for more rigorous study and clearer pathways to treatment options.

Veteran PTSD, TBI, Chronic Pain and Opioid Harm Reduction Goals

Stoffer described the policy argument as part of a broader effort to expand the range of tools available to clinicians and veterans.

Not every veteran responds to the same therapy. The case for research is to identify what works, for whom and under what conditions.

He also noted that opioid misuse and addiction remain serious concerns, with downstream risks that can include overdose and worsening mental health outcomes. In that context, advocates argue that research into alternative treatments should be pursued with urgency and scientific rigor.

Stoffer referenced reports from states with medical cannabis laws indicating reductions in opioid overdoses, presenting the issue as one of public health outcomes and evidence-based policy.

The American Legion’s Legislative Priority: “Win the War Within”

Stoffer said the American Legion continues to elevate veteran suicide prevention and mental health as a top legislative priority, often framed as the effort to “win the war within.”

In that broader mission, expanding research capacity is positioned as a practical step: building a stronger evidence base so policymakers and healthcare systems can make informed decisions about treatment options.

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