WASHINGTON, DC — Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) on Wednesday introduced legislation, The Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act, to expand and facilitate medical cannabis access to military veterans suffering from chronic pain, PTSD, and other serious medical conditions.
Under existing regulations, VA doctors are not permitted to fill out the mandatory paperwork necessary to recommend cannabis therapy in those 31 states that regulate it.
Passage of The Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act ends this discrimination against veterans and prevents sanctions against VA doctors who wish to recommend medical cannabis treatment to their patients.
The Act also encourages the Veterans Administration to promulgate medical cannabis research, and appropriates funding for scientific studies.
A recent American Legion poll found that nearly one in four veterans use marijuana to alleviate a medical condition.
A 2017 review of over 10,000 studies by the National Academy of Sciences concluded, “There is conclusive or substantial evidence that cannabis and cannabinoids are effective for the treatment for chronic pain in adults.”
Similar legislation, The Veterans Equal Access Act (HR 1820) is pending in the House. You can contact your federal lawmakers in support of both of these bills using the NORML Action Alert.
Tags: Bill Nelson, Brian Schatz, Department of Veterans Affairs, medical marijuana, The Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act, veterans
