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House and Senate committees held joint hearings last week to hear from veterans service organizations (VSOs) about how Congress and the federal government can better serve their constituents, and several of the groups brought up the need to ease restrictions on marijuana.<\/p>\n
Written testimony submitted ahead of the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday echoes what the VSOs have repeatedly raised with lawmakers<\/a>. The specifics range in scope between the various groups, but the overall message was made clear: military veterans uniquely stand to benefit from marijuana treatment and it\u2019s time for Congress to do something about it.<\/p>\n Among other asks from the organizations are for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand research into the therapeutic potential of cannabis, for Congress to lift study barriers for Schedule I drugs that show medical promise and to end prohibition so that veterans can access marijuana recommendations through their VA doctors.<\/p>\n \u201cSupport for the use of medical cannabis to treat the wounds of war has been growing among the veteran population for years, and [Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America] members have repeatedly voiced their support,\u201d IAVA CEO Jeremy Butler said. \u201cVeterans consistently and passionately have communicated that cannabis offers effective help in tackling some of the most pressing injuries we face when returning from war.\u201d<\/p>\n IAVA was one of three VSOs to mention cannabis in its written testimony to for the joint hearings<\/a> of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past few years, IAVA members have set out to change the national conversation around cannabis and underscore the need for bipartisan, evidence-based, common-sense solutions that can bring relief to millions, save taxpayers billions and create thousands of jobs for veterans nationwide,\u201d Butler said. \u201cIn 2022, IAVA will continue our fight on behalf of veterans who want to use medicinal cannabis and we remain committed to the goal of VA conducting research into the efficacy of medical cannabis as a treatment for veterans with chronic pain, PTSD, and other conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n While researchers have found ample evidence to support the idea that cannabis can effectively treat a wide range of conditions that commonly afflict the veteran community, \u201cfederal bureaucratic hurdles continue to halt the system and stymie good research,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will never get a definitive answer on the efficacy of cannabis as a treatment option while federal regulations that actively undermine solid research studies remain in place. The system is antiquated and must be adjusted to match state laws and research needs. For these reasons, in the 117th Congress IAVA will continue our work to remove these barriers to research and usage to those veterans where it is already legal by advocating to remove cannabis as a Schedule I drug.\u201d<\/p>\n AMVETS National Commander Greg Heun made similar points in the group\u2019s testimony<\/a>. He emphasized, for example, that there\u2019s research that suggests that \u201cwhere medical and adult-use cannabis is accessible, there is a reduction in opioid prescribing, opioid use, and opioid-related overdose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cCannabis is currently legal and regulated for adult and medicinal use in more than 35 states, representing more than half of the U.S. population, yet veterans have no way to access cannabis through the Department of Veterans Affairs and risk loss of employment or imprisonment for cannabis use in certain circumstances,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe call upon the White House and Congress to fulfill their responsibilities to the nation\u2019s veterans by recognizing the inappropriateness of cannabis\u2019 current scheduling and removing it from the Controlled Substance Act, by removing the roadblocks to expanding approved cultivation and research and committing all necessary resources to understand the therapeutic potential of cannabis and bringing those derived medications to veterans as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) put its stance plainly<\/a>: It supports \u201cVA research into the medical efficacy of cannabis for treatment of service-connected veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n Another meeting<\/a> of the House and Senate panels is scheduled for Tuesday, but cannabis isn\u2019t mentioned in any of the written testimony<\/a> for the groups set to appear.<\/p>\n In past hearings on veterans- and marijuana-related legislation, VA representatives have pushed back against VSOs by insisting that the department is already carrying out research into the therapeutic potential of cannabis. But advocates say the focus of that research is too often focused on the potential negative consequences of marijuana consumption.<\/p>\n Some advocates had held out hope that the department would back modest reform proposals this session after the sponsor of one key VA research bill, Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), said that\u00a0he\u2019d had a conversation with VA Secretary Denis McDonough<\/a>\u00a0about the issue of marijuana and veterans.<\/p>\n In December, a VA researcher acknowledged that people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who use marijuana\u00a0experience fewer symptoms and recover more quickly<\/a>\u00a0compared to people who don\u2019t use cannabis.<\/p>\n Another VA official said in September that the department is \u201cvery closely\u201d following research into\u00a0the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics like MDMA<\/a>\u00a0for military veterans with PTSD.<\/p>\n A federal commission tasked with developing recommendations to improve mental health treatment for military veterans determined in a report in 2020 that Congress and the executive branch\u00a0should promote research into the therapeutic potential<\/a>\u00a0of marijuana and psychedelics such as psilocybin mushrooms and MDMA.<\/p>\n Separately, a bipartisan coalition of congressional lawmakers said in a letter to McDonough that the department must urgently institute a policy change to\u00a0ensure that military veterans can access cannabis<\/a>\u00a0for therapeutic use.<\/p>\n The letter came weeks after McDonough participated in a Veterans Day Q&A where he said that VA officials are\u00a0\u201clooking at\u201d the possibility of an internal policy change<\/a>\u00a0and have discussed it with the White House and Department of Justice. The secretary also talked about being personally moved by stories from veterans who\u2019ve found relief using medical marijuana.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Portland branch of the VA is now teaming up with an Oregon university on a new website that aims to provide resources to make healthcare providers \u201cmore comfortable\u201d discussing marijuana treatment with patients.<\/a><\/p>\n More Than 50 Marijuana And Civil Rights Groups Demand Congress Lift Ban On D.C. Cannabis Sales<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Veterans Groups Call On Congress To Allow Medical Marijuana Access Through VA<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
House and Senate committees held joint hearings last week to hear from veterans service organizations (VSOs) about how Congress and the federal government can better serve their constituents, and several of the groups brought up the need to ease restrictions on marijuana. Written testimony submitted ahead of the meetings onContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":53364,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53363"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53363"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53365,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53363\/revisions\/53365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Veterans Groups Call On Congress To Allow Medical Marijuana Access Through VA<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"