Congress Abandons Effort To Let VA Doctors Recommend Medical Marijuana...

Advocates are sharply criticizing congressional leaders for advancing a
spending bill ahead of Veterans Day on Tuesday that omits bipartisan
provisions allowing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to
recommend medical cannabis to patients in states where it’s legal—even
though the policy was approved by the full Senate and House of
Representatives earlier this year.

While there’s been significant focus on language in appropriations legislation
that passed the Senate on Monday that would ban hemp products containing THC,
another key setback for reform advocates is the lack of the medical
marijuana provisions for veterans—different versions of which advanced
through both chambers.

“The absence of this provision is incredibly disappointing, and makes no
sense whatsoever,” Morgan Fox, political director of NORML, told Marijuana
Moment. “It is uncontroversial, revenue-neutral, previously approved by
both chambers, and long overdue in order to help veterans find relief.”

“The timing of the announcement—just days before a holiday to show our
gratitude to service members—is quite insensitive,” he said, referring to
the bill’s unveiling on Sunday, just two days before Veterans Day.

*Here’s the text of the House-passed version: *

“None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the
Department of Veterans Affairs in this Act may be used to enforce Veterans
Health Directive 1315 as it relates to—

(1) the policy stating that ‘VHA providers are prohibited from completing
forms or registering Veterans for participation in a State-approved
marijuana program’;

(2) the directive for the ‘Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations
and Management’ to ensure that ‘medical facility Directors are aware that
it is VHA policy for providers to assess Veteran use of marijuana but
providers are prohibited from recommending, making referrals to or
completing paperwork for Veteran participation in State marijuana
programs’; and

(3) the directive for the ‘VA Medical Facility Director’ to ensure that ‘VA
facility staff are aware of the following’ ‘[t]he prohibition recommending,
making referrals to or completing forms and registering Veterans for
participation in State-approved marijuana programs’.”

*The Senate-passed language reads:*

“None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the
Department of Veterans Affairs in this Act may be used in a manner that
would—

(1) interfere with the ability of a veteran to participate in a medicinal
marijuana program approved by a State;

(2) deny any services from the Department to a veteran who is participating
in such a program; or

(3) limit or interfere with the ability of a health care provider of the
Department to make appropriate recommendations, fill out forms, or take
steps to comply with such a program.”

The negotiated bill contains no language on the issue at all.

“Denying our veterans access to a medicine that so many use to ease
physical pain, or the trauma of PTSD, is straight cruelty,” Adam Smith,
executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Marijuana
Moment.

“VA doctors know that many of their patients are using cannabis, and often
reducing their dependence on prescription psych meds or addictive pain
medications,” he said. “Denying those doctors the right to consult with
their patients around cannabis use is nonsensical, and a disservice to
those who have paid the often terrible price of serving and protecting our
nation.”

In past years, both the House and Senate had included provisions in their
respective MilConVA measures that would permit VA doctors to make the
medical cannabis recommendations, but they have never been enacted into law.

On the House side, Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Dave Joyce (R-OH)—who are
both co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—sponsored the cannabis
amendment, which would increase veterans’ access to state medical marijuana
programs and eliminate a current VA directive barring the department’s
doctors from issuing cannabis recommendations.

Mast in February filed the standalone Veterans Equal Access Act—marking one
of the latest attempt to enact the measure that’s enjoyed bipartisan support over
recent sessions.

Meanwhile, hemp industry stakeholders are sounding the alarm about separate
language in the appropriations minibus package that would prohibit the sale
of most hemp products containing THC. President Donald Trump “supports”
the proposed ban, a White House spokesperson said on Monday.

The post Congress Abandons Effort To Let VA Doctors Recommend Medical
Marijuana On Veterans Day appeared first on Marijuana Moment.