![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-94.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
A key House committee on Wednesday approved two amendments to a must-pass defense spending bill that deal with marijuana- related issues in the armed services.<\/p>\n
Both measures cleared the House Armed Services Committee on voice votes during a markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).<\/p>\n
The first, from Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), concerns cannabis sentencing standards under military code. The other from, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), calls for a Department of Defense (DOD)-led study into the medical efficacy of cannabis over opioids for certain conditions.<\/p>\n
Brown\u2019s proposal would mandate that the Military Justice Review Panel \u201cdevelop recommendations specifying appropriate sentencing ranges for offenses involving the use and possession of marijuana\u201d under military code.<\/p>\n
The panel\u2019s recommendations would need to include a comparative analysis on sentencing standards for cannabis-based offenses versus other \u201ccomparable offenses, such as offenses involving the misuse of alcohol.\u201d They would also need to take into account the \u201coverall burden on the military justice system on the current approach of the Department of Defense to sentencing marijuana-based offenses.\u201d<\/p>\n
A report with recommendations from the panel would need to be submitted to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees within 180 days of the measure\u2019s enactment.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAs states around the country and the House take steps to reform our approach to cannabis, we need to ensure the military justice system reflects those changes,\u201d Brown said<\/a> in a press release. \u201cToday, cannabis-related offices are treated harshly in comparison with other comparable offenses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy amendment doesn\u2019t change current law, but what it does do is require our armed services to review and provide recommendations for potential reform,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is an important step in our efforts to ensure our military justice system is providing fair treatment to every service member.\u201d<\/p>\n ADOPTED (voice): Amendment # 1808 \u2014 Rep. Brown \u2014 Chairman\u2019s Mark<\/p>\n \u2014 House Armed Services Democrats (@HASCDemocrats) June 23, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n In April, Brown filed a related, standalone bill<\/a> that would make it so the punishment for military service members who use or possess marijuana could not exceed penalties for being drunk or incapacitated on duty. In general, the congressman\u2019s\u00a0Restoring Equity For Offenses Related to Marijuana (REFORM) Act would amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to more closely align cannabis- and alcohol- related penalties.<\/p>\n He separately worked to get report language attached to last year\u2019s version of NDAA that voiced concerns about racial disparities in military drug testing practices<\/a>\u00a0and ordered the Pentagon to conduct a review of the issue.<\/p>\n \u2014 In 2019, DOD announced a policy barring all active and reserve service members from using hemp products<\/a>, including CBD. DOD more broadly reaffirmed that CBD is off limits to service members\u00a0in earlier notices published in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n Moulton\u2019s amendment<\/a>, meanwhile, would require the secretary of defense to \u201cconduct a study on the use of medicinal cannabis as an alternative to prescription opioids in the treatment of members of the Armed Forces on terminal leave preceding separation, retirement, or release from active duty.\u201d<\/p>\n Participants in the study would include people who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain injury, or any other condition involving serve pain.\u201d The amendment further states that, in order to be selected to participate, military members would have been otherwise prescribed opioid pain medication for their conditions.<\/p>\n Upon completion of the study, the secretary of defense would need to \u201cmonitor the effects\u2026on the health of former participants by conducting assessments of such former participants.\u201d The official would additionally need to submit reports to congressional defense committees on the study at the one-year mark following its completion and also three years after it concludes.<\/p>\n The reports to Congress must include \u201ca description of any such findings relating to the benefits or other effects of using medicinal cannabis as an alternative to prescription opioids\u201d and any relevant recommendations based on the findings.<\/p>\n Moulton\u2019s amendment also requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to \u201ccarry out an education initiative regarding the use of medicinal cannabis\u201d in the treatment of the aforementioned conditions. The secretary would be required to take into consideration the \u201cspecific vulnerability to opioid abuse and substance abuse disorder of individuals transitioning from serving on active duty in the Armed Forces\u201d and \u201cbest practices for reducing the stigmatization of medicinal cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n ADOPTED (voice) Amendment # 1994r1 \u2014 Rep. Moulton \u2014 Chairman\u2019s Mark<\/p>\n \u2014 House Armed Services Democrats (@HASCDemocrats) June 23, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n In March, Moulton filed a standalone bill that would make it so military veterans would be \u201cencouraged\u201d to discuss medical marijuana treatment<\/a> without the fear of losing federal benefits.<\/p>\n The main thrust of that legislation is to codify existing policies that allow VA doctors to talk about medical cannabis with patients as well as protections for veterans who are candid about their history with marijuana treatment. By doing so, it would enshrine these polices into law so that they could not later be changed administratively by future VA leaders.<\/p>\n The congressman has played an active role in introducing veteran- and cannabis-specific legislation in past sessions. In 2019, for example, he filed three House bills\u00a0concerning medical marijuana for military veterans<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both of the newly approved amendments to NDAA will still need to advance through both chambers of Congress before potentially being transmitted to the president\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n Some advocates had held out hope that NDAA would be the legislative vehicle to enact bipartisan marijuana banking reform<\/a>\u00a0last year after the House attached the reform to the bill as a floor amendment, but it was later taken out in negotiations with the Senate.<\/p>\n Now, after it was announced on Wednesday that cannabis banking will not be enacted<\/a> as part of the separate large-scale manufacturing bill known as the America COMPETES Act, some lawmakers and advocates are beginning to suggest that this year\u2019s NDAA could be another vehicle to attach the reform to. It remains to be seen whether that will happen when the bill gets to the House floor and, if so, how the Senate will react this time.<\/p>\n Read the text<\/a> of the committee-approved cannabis amendments below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Senate Committee Votes To Let People Who\u2019ve Used Marijuana Work For CIA, NSA And Other Intelligence Agencies<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis\/Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post House Panel Directs Military To Review Marijuana Penalties For Soldiers And Study Medical Cannabis As Opioid Alternative<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A key House committee on Wednesday approved two amendments to a must-pass defense spending bill that deal with marijuana- related issues in the armed services. Both measures cleared the House Armed Services Committee on voice votes during a markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The first, from Rep.Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":55443,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55442"}],"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=55442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55444,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55442\/revisions\/55444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-93.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\nRead More: House Panel Directs Military To Review Marijuana Penalties For Soldiers And Study Medical Cannabis As Opioid Alternative<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"