Veterans Medical Marijuana Approved by Senate Committee at Last!

The legalization and decriminalization of cannabis has opened access to medical marijuana for different types of people. Professionals in various fields now use the natural herb for relaxation, while others easily tap into the medicinal goodness of the herb. However, in order for these groups of people to benefit from the benefits of the herb, various guidelines and regulations had to be introduced. This is even more important as cannabis is not legal at the federal level.

The focus of this article is the recent vote of a Senate medical cannabis committee for military veterans in the United States.

At its meeting on Wednesday, August 3, 2021, the committee approved an amendment that would allow military veterans better access to cannabis recommendations in constitutional states. The amendment to the committee will allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend cannabis as a solution to various medical ailments.

Senator Jeff Merkley endorsed the change, which was passed in a voice memo in the Grants Committee. The change will also prevent the ministry from banning veterans from access to state-legal medical cannabis programs. He stated that as more states in the United States open their borders to medical marijuana, veterans need to know and understand their doctors’ stance on the matter.

The crux of the change

If you look a little closer at the amendment, you can easily see some of the different ways the amendment seeks to achieve its goal. The amendment begins with what the funds made available for the department for the 2022 financial year can and cannot be used for. First of all, the funds cannot be used by the department to directly or indirectly affect a veteran’s ability to enjoy the benefits of medical marijuana. This is provided that such a veteran wishes to participate in the program in a state where it is legal.

Second, under this change, the Department cannot refuse service to any veteran participating in such a program. This particular clause in the amendment is very important as it is one of the powers the department is known to use to discourage veterans from using marijuana programs. The third and final sentence of the change states that the department cannot limit or intervene in any way when a department health care provider makes recommendations or takes action that is consistent with the program.

History of similar proposals

You might be interested to know that this is not the first time such a bill has made it to the Senate Budget Committee. In 2018, a similar proposal went to the Budget Committee from the same Senator. The House has also approved various laws for VA doctors over the years, but none have ever been converted into law. The reason for this isn’t that far-fetched, however. Some of the senators feel that the illegal nature of cannabis can pose a problem with the federal government. This is because the Justice Department can hold them liable as the natural herb is banned under federal law.

A similar move taken at the House level to help veterans and their access to medical marijuana was made by the Reps. Conor Lamb and Peter Meijer undertook. Both of them tabled a bill in May called the Fully Informed Veteran Act. This law started with the basics to ensure veterans had access to information and resources on state-legal cannabis programs. A bill had also been projected by another pair of Republican lawmakers on the same subject. This bill was more aimed at encouraging research into potential uses of medical marijuana for veterans.

It seems like the bills came at the right time to force veterans into medical marijuana. One day before the draft law was submitted to the committee, a bipartisan Senate draft was tabled, which provides for the VA to conduct clinical studies on the possible use of marijuana in post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. An earlier version of this bill had also been approved by the House Veterans Affairs Committee. This included opening up doctors in VA to make recommendations for medical marijuana programs to patients in states where it is legal.

Other laws have also been passed at the House level to encourage police use of medical marijuana. A bipartisan coalition of MPs in Congress passed a law in April that will legalize the medical use of marijuana for military veterans. These lines also advance bills that encourage further research aimed at identifying potential therapeutic uses of psychedelics in military veterans for mental illness.

Some veterans have complained about access to home loan benefits while working in the state-approved marijuana industry. Representative Katherine Clark decided to address this by bypassing a registration letter to address the issue. It was not long before this Clark amendment was approved by the House of Representatives as evidence of the ripple the issue is making in the House.

Bottom line

The VA has a lot to do when it comes to opening up to the benefits of medical marijuana. This is very evident in the light of the limited progress the Agency has made in research. However, this draft law passed by the committee is just one of many that need to spur them on to further action. The more veterans have access to medical marijuana, the better for them, and the more willing the VA is to delve into clinical research, the better for the veterans.

THE MILITARY ON MARIJUANA, READ MORE …

MILITARY VETS WANT MORE RESEARCH ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA!

OR..

WHY IS THE MILITARY AGAINST WEED, WE ASKED, READ THIS!