Politics
Congress Abandons Effort To Let VA Doctors Recommend Medical Marijuana On Veterans Day
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.
