Biden’s government is trying to block medical cannabis research for veterans

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The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is encouraging Congress to oppose a new bill that would require federal agencies to conduct research into the use of medicinal cannabis to treat veterans.

This spring, Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) reintroduced the VA Medical Cannabis Research Act, a bill that would force the VA to conduct clinical research into the safety and effectiveness of medical cannabis as a treatment perform for veterans. This humble bill wouldn’t even legalize cannabis for veterans altogether, but even so, the Biden government still wants to shut it down.

At a Senate committee hearing on the bill this week, Mark Upton, Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Community Health, told lawmakers that the agency “does not support this bill,” according to Marijuana Moment. Upton claimed that the VA is not opposed to the concept of medical marijuana research, but argued that this particular bill would interfere with studies that the agency is already promoting.

“The proposed legislation is redundant in that VA is already studying the risks and benefits of cannabis in the treatment of PTSD and chronic pain,” Upton said in a written statement. The agency particularly resents a provision in the bill that requires at least seven different types of medicinal cannabis to be tested for the treatment of these conditions.

Rather than looking at the full spectrum of medicinal cannabis, the VA focused on a study that looked at a single cannabinoid. “VA has used the scientific peer review system and is currently supporting a clinical study with CBD for the treatment of PTSD, in which CBD is used as an add-on treatment to standard therapy. The results of this study should be available next year, ”wrote Upton.

Although the VA claims it supports medical marijuana research, the agency has a long history of opposition to cannabis in any way, shape, or form. Any veteran caught using medical marijuana can forfeit their benefits, including home loans and pension payments, even if it is legal in their home state. VA doctors are prohibited from recommending cannabis to veterans, and all staff in the department are prohibited from consuming cannabis for any reason at any time.

Veterans rights groups have been calling for Congress to give veterans access to this potent drug for years, and many lawmakers agree. Legislators have passed dozens of bills to legalize medical pot for veterans, protect the benefits of veterans using state-legal medical pot, or even just approve scientific research on the subject, but GOP leaders have managed to get every single one these bills kill so far.

The Biden government is now hoping to crush support for this new law, but lawmakers are still confident they can approve it anyway. “This year it will pass the House,” said Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), one of the bill’s sponsors, Marijuana Moment reports. “The momentum, the support and the commitment are there. We have to do this for our veterans. “