Three Bills To Give Vets Access To Legal Cannabis Shut Down By Trump Admin

Jessica McKeil May 14, 2019 5 comments

Proper VA Health Care, including access to medical cannabis is an ongoing battle as cannabis is still federally illegal.

There are more than 18 million veterans in the US. Each one has risked their lives to serve the needs of the country. Now, President Donald Trump and his administration are failing to serve them in return. During a congressional hearing at the end of April, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) came out in opposition to three critical bills designed to amend cannabis policies for veterans in legalized states. There was widespread support for these changes to VA healthcare, but not, apparently from those sitting in the current administration.

Veterans are Turning to Cannabis for PTSD and Pain

The congressional hearing, which bundled three bills into one larger discussion, came at a time when veterans in more than 30 states have access to legal cannabis. Another 12 states allow for medicinal use of CBD oil or low-THC products. More and more veterans are turning to cannabis as an alternative treatment option for chronic pain from injuries sustained while in service, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and other mental health issues.

VA, VA healthcare, Veterans Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, medical cannabis, legalized state, legalization, prohibition, cannabis prescriptions

According to the latest numbers from the National Center for PTSD, up to 20 percent of US Veterans return from service with symptoms of PTSD. If we step back to look at veterans’ mental health more broadly, roughly 30 percent of active duty personnel are believed to have some mental health issue. Yet, only 50 percent of returning veterans seek medical treatment.

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On top of these discouraging statistics, data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) indicated 9.1 percent of veterans experience chronic pain. This number may increase with a report of active infantrymen. As a result, veterans have higher rates of opioid use, addiction, and suicide than the average American.

As Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) said during the congressional hearing, “One of the great tragedies of our time is the failure to adequately address the needs of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan… An overwhelming number of veterans tell me that cannabis has reduced PTSD symptoms [and] the dependency on addictive opioids.”

What Bills Were Up for Debate?

There were three related bills up for discussion during this pivotal congressional hearing. Each sought to address the needs of veterans, and close the gap between VA healthcare policies and the realities experienced by veterans in legalized states.

The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act

One of the reasons why medicinal cannabis use isn’t more widespread is the lack of clinical study. Time and time again, politicians cite gaps in research as a reason to oppose legalization. This bill, introduced by Representative Lou Correa (D-CA), seeks to change that. It would force the VA to launch research into cannabis use for medical conditions affecting veterans. Of particular note, the bill would seek to enforce research on cannabis for chronic pain and PTSD.

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The Veterans Equal Access Act

Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced this act to give veterans access to medicinal cannabis recommendations through the VA healthcare system. Today, veterans must go outside their insurance network to pay for a cannabis recommendation, which can be hundreds of dollars. This act would give VA physicians the ability to recommend cannabis treatment while keeping the veteran within the insurance network.

Veterans Cannabis Use for Safe Healing Act

Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) proposed the Veterans Cannabis Use for Safe Healing Act. This act seeks to federally legalize cannabis use by veterans who live in legalized states. Currently, it is illegal, and veterans risk losing their VA healthcare benefits if their medicinal cannabis use is discovered.

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Federal Opposition to Cannabis Continues, Despite Widespread Public Support

Between those called to testify to the congressional committee and the subcommittee members, there was widespread support for these three pro-cannabis bills. However, many of the representatives from the VA itself, including Keita Franklin, adamantly opposed the proposals.

Franklin is the national director of suicide prevention in the VA’s Office of Mental Health. She stated the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act was too risky. In her opinion, there was not yet enough preliminary work to reduce the risk for human study. She proposed, “a smaller, early-phase trial design would be used to advance our knowledge of benefits and risk regarding cannabis before moving to a type of more expansive approach as described in this proposed legislation.”

Based on guidance from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the VA also opposed the Veterans Equal Access Act. The DEA has declared that no VA doctors may recommend cannabis use to their patients. The DEA “advised VA that no provision of the controlled substances act would be exempt from criminal sanctions as a VA physician who acts with intent to provide a patient with means to obtain marijuana.”

Franklin and the VA Office also opposed the final bill in front of the congressional committee. In their opinion, there is already legislation in place protecting veterans from loss of benefits due to medicinal cannabis use. Other subcommittee members disagree, stating the need to codify this legislation into law before a future administration reversed it.

Schedule I Classification Hinders VA Healthcare

No matter the level of support for these bills across party lines, in the general public, and by physicians, the Department is tied by cannabis’s current Schedule I status. Even the VA’s chief consultant on population health, Larry Mole, blames the Justice Department for the stagnation on these issues.

Despite the current administration’s opposition, there’s momentum behind the movement for cannabis access for veterans. As the director of government affairs at Americans for Safe Access so eloquently put it, “After returning from war, America’s heroes are faced with another battle at home against pills and suicide, and the trio of medical cannabis bills would give them the tools they need to help win this battle by providing less dangerous, non-addictive methods for symptom management.”

Author avatar

Jessica McKeil

Jessica McKeil is a freelance writer focused on the medical marijuana industry, from production methods to medicinal applications. She is lucky enough to live in beautiful British Columbia, Canada where the cannabis industry is exploding. When not writing, she spends much of her time exploring in the coastal forests.

5 comments

  1. Matthew Penn

    why doesnt trump support cannabis anymore, he was in favor during his 2016 presidential election. what has changed, how much did big pharma pay this traitor. 22 suicides a day inside our miltary that cannabis could help save them. and this lying motherfucker acts like he loves our military,our counrty, if so why not give them something that could help them, our military members are killing themselves. he dont love shit other than money. i guess he wants them on pain meds like zombies so when they get home and cant get any more pills they will turn to heroin or suicide. our world is sick and so is our government . im starting to believe there is no good people left and the world is just shit. the dems and republicans are all the same agenda working towards one cause and thats the distruction of our peopel and america. i hate our cruel unjust broken system, just destroy them with opioids, and theyll take care of themselves eventually. then they can sweep them under a rug like they never matter or existed.how our corrupt government has always has. the power we give our government is getting out of control and where does it stop. cannabis heals and opiods kills. cannabis cannot kill you it can only heal cannabis does not effect your cerebral stem while opiods and alcohol can kill you in a matter of minutes because they do affect the cerebral stem, so why keep killing our own, why ?why? and when does it STOP.

  2. Thanks for all the work you do helping us

    • Jennifer Grant

      Thank you for your service. It is the least we can do – to spread awareness of the roadblocks to healing medicine. Criminal.

  3. The va is in the last stage of not giving any more morphine, or hydrocodone. I will now have to go to streets to get anoff pain medications to help, not just getting drugs and most will think that that!!! I was disabled in 1978, and the va has done “NOTHING” TO HELP MEDICALLY”, so drug’s was there only way they could help. No mind you, that that are taking away the, only thing that can help me, but what about my pain, is it going to go away like my medications? NO IT WILL NOT,
    Now what am I, as well as the other vets going to do with our pain, as we can not just make it go away. Like our meds that the government is doing with our med’s.
    Please repost if you agree!!!

    • Ken Shostad

      So true… The government treats us as numbers that are never-ending… When done, throw us away like garbage… I too am a vet and disabled… It took five years to get onto disability [1993] and in that time all they did was give me drugs twelve at last count.
      But I took myself off all but three, after passing out in front of my nine years old…
      They started cutting back after all the press on opioid deaths. However, they are mixing the heroin addicts with the chronic pain patients and that is one of their first mistakes… We should be separated and then evaluated… They have cut my pain relievers; twice they just cut them in half and then by a third. Now they drop it by about ten pills per quarter… But they keep trying to push other medications to take their place with horrific side effects… In fact, it seems I am very lucky as many of those meds you see on commercials for lawsuits, I had been on many of those in the past… But my left ear didn’t fall off nor did I start bleeding from my eyes, lost liver function, etc… at least not so much that I would notice…
      The FACT is this plant is a GOD send, it helps with the pain and lets me get some rest, lets me eat and be calm… It’s been used as a medication for over three thousand years and will again be legal and used for all in the next five to ten years… I figure “We The People” will have to pull their collective heads out of their azzes by then… May GOD Bless you and yours… And If ANYONE needs to talk, I am here for you…