House lawmakers are reintroducing the bipartisan Equal Access to Veterans Act

Two House lawmakers on Thursday introduced bipartisan legislation to give military veterans access to medical marijuana. The bill, the Veterans Equal Access Act, was brought back into the House by Representative Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat, and Florida Republican Representative Brian Mast, who lost both his legs while serving in the army in Afghanistan .

“I woke up to a situation where I had probably taken 20 different narcotics of different types. I was, I had Dilaudid drip, I had oral morphine and [oxycodones] and an epidural,” Mast told Spectrum News. “I’ve been on anti-inflammatories, strong sleeping pills, antidepressants that I’ve never taken or thought of, or you could even name names from earlier in my life.”

If passed by Congress and enacted by the President, the Veterans Equal Access Act would allow physicians at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health facilities to make recommendations for state-licensed medicinal cannabis. Under current regulations, VA physicians in states that have legalized the medical use of cannabis are not allowed to fill out the paperwork required for military veterans to use medical marijuana.

“We lose almost two dozen veterans who take their own lives every day,” said Blumenauer. “We have seen a situation where unfortunately the VA who is not on board [with] Giving access to medical marijuana was handing out opioids like tic tacs. I think there are some changes that are taking place. I’ve had discussions with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, but this is a step that is long overdue.”

The Veterans Equal Access Act has been passed several times in recent years with bipartisan support in Congress, and the legislation has received approval at the committee level. So far, however, supporters of the draft law have not been able to push through the measure.

“Today was a monumental day for our veterans. We’ve been working for years to reform this counterproductive policy that forces veterans outside of the VA to receive legal medical cannabis treatment for chronic pain and PTSD,” Blumenauer said when the bill was approved by the House Veterans Affairs Committee in March 2020. “This is the culmination of the tremendous work of our movement, but we will not be finished until this becomes law in the country. We need to reform our federal cannabis policy.”

Bill has broad bipartisan support

Blumenauer said the VA does not support legislation to give veterans access to medicinal cannabis. But veteran groups like AMVETS and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) support the bill.

“Some veterans across the country are even reluctant to seek VA health care because they are concerned about having to discuss the cannabis products they are legally putting in their bodies with VA doctors,” said Brittany Dymond, associate director of the VFW.

The Veterans Equal Access Act also has support from cannabis policy reform groups, including the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the Drug Policy Alliance, as well as representatives from the regulated cannabis industry. Saphira Galoob, executive director of the National Cannabis Roundtable, said the bill will open up new treatment options for veterans in states that have legalized medical marijuana.

“It is unconscionable to deny our veterans equal access to the full array of medical treatments and options available to all other adults in the 37 states with medical cannabis programs,” Galoob said in a statement from the cannabis industry trade group. “VA physicians must be empowered to discuss medicinal cannabis and make recommendations on state justice programs to the veterans they serve, and we thank Congressman Blumenauer and Congressman Mast for their commitment to moving this important action forward in the 118th Congress . NCR was honored to be present at today’s announcement and to support this much-needed, bipartisan bill.”

The Veterans Equal Access Act has been referred to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs for further consideration. The full text of the law is available online.