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The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved several marijuana reform amendments as part of a large-scale defense bill, including proposals to protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses and allow U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to issue medical marijuana recommendations.<\/p>\n
A total of nine drug policy measures passed the chamber as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week, after being made in order for floor consideration<\/a> by the Rules Committee on Tuesday.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the House first approved a bipartisan pair of psychedelics research amendments, as well as another measure requiring a military study into marijuana-related enforcement discrimination in the armed services. Those were part of the first en bloc package of measures that were taken up on the floor.<\/p>\n Subsequent packages contained a wide range of cannabis proposals. One amendment from Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) that advocates and stakeholders have been monitoring especially closely contains the language of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would protect financial institutions that service state-legal marijuana businesses from being penalized by federal regulators.<\/p>\n The #SAFEBanking<\/a> amendment was adopted to the #FY23NDAA<\/a>! Final passage of the NDAA will take place later today. \u2014 Rep. Ed Perlmutter (@RepPerlmutter) July 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Perlmutter discussed the measure in the Rules Committee on Tuesday, arguing that it was germane to the defense legislation because it could help combat international drug trafficking, which poses a national security risk. The House adopted the amendment as part of last year\u2019s NDAA<\/a>, but the Senate didn\u2019t go along so it was not included in the final bill.<\/p>\n \u2014 The congressman also tried getting marijuana banking reform included in a large-scale manufacturing bill that\u2019s in bicameral conference, but leadership agreed to exclude the language, prompting him to pursue another vehicle.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, an amendment from Reps. Earl Blumenauer\u2019s (D-OR) and Brian Mast (R-FL) to codify that VA doctors can discuss and issue recommendations for medical cannabis to veterans also passed the House.<\/p>\n In a Dear Colleague letter that was shared with Marijuana Moment, Blumenauer and Mast talked about the unique therapeutic potential of cannabis for veterans suffering from PTSD and argued that current VA policy prohibiting doctors from issuing recommendations \u201cforces veterans to seek care outside of the VA to receive opinions and recommendations on this care option.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVA physicians should not be denied the ability to offer a recommendation that they think may meet the needs of their patients,\u201d they wrote. \u201cVeterans should not be forced outside the VA system to seek treatment that is legal in their state.\u201d<\/p>\n A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Blumenauer, separately filed an amendment to an appropriations minibus<\/a> on Wednesday that would block VA from preventing military veterans from using medical cannabis while allowing its doctors to fill out recommendations for patients who want to participate in state programs.<\/p>\n Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) had an amendment to NDAA adopted that similarly provides VA doctors with that authority, but it goes further by prohibiting federal employers from discriminating against veterans who use, or have used, marijuana.<\/p>\n Many of our veterans understandably struggle from PTSD or depression. <\/p>\n According to the American College of Physicians, the American Public Health Association, & the American Nurses Association, cannabis is a safe alternative to other federally approved treatments.<\/p>\n (1\/3)<\/p>\n \u2014 Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) July 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n My amendment was passed and attached to the NDAA to be voted on tonight. This establishes a safe harbor for veterans to access legal state cannabis programs and protects VA benefits already in place. #SRA<\/a> #Omnicannabis<\/a> #Enditforgood<\/a> (3\/3)<\/p>\n \u2014 Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) July 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The House additionally approved a revised measure from Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) that expresses the sense of Congress that VA should not deny home loans to veterans because they derive income from a state-legal marijuana business. The proposal was initially introduced as an outright prohibition of such denials, but was changed to a nonbinding form.<\/p>\n Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) secured two drug policy amendments to the NDAA. One that passed on Wednesday builds on a measure from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to study marijuana as an opioid alternative in the treatment of service members with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries and severe pain. Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s proposal widens the scope of that research to include psilocybin and MDMA<\/a>.<\/p>\n 8 items my office passed + supported today in the House NDAA:<\/p>\n 1. Authorizing MDMA & psilocybin as substances for study in therapeutic applications 2. New limits on arms sales to Saudi Arabia + requiring actions related to the death of Jamal Khashoggi \u2014 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 15, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Then on Thursday, the congresswoman\u2019s amendment to prevent the use of funds for aerial fumigation on drug crops in Colombia was adopted. The practice has been widely criticized by reform and human rights advocates.<\/p>\n The other psychedelics amendment that cleared the chamber on Wednesday was sponsored by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX). It would allow the secretary of defense to approve grants for research into the therapeutic potential of certain psychedelics such as MDMA, psilocybin, ibogaine and 5\u2013MeO\u2013DMT for active duty military members with PTSD.<\/p>\n Notably, an earlier, identical version of the\u00a0was not made in order for the floor<\/a>\u00a0as part of last year\u2019s NDAA, signaling that attitudes toward psychedelics have shifted in Congress over recent months.<\/p>\n The House on Wednesday also passed a measure from Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) that would require DOD to study the \u201chistorically discriminatory manner in which laws related to marijuana offenses have been enforced, the potential for the continued discriminatory application of the law (whether intentional or unintentional), and recommendations for actions that can be taken to minimize the risk of such discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, lawmakers passed an amendment on Thursday that was filed by Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ). It seeks to eliminate the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.<\/p>\n Lawmakers who sponsored the reforms praised their inclusion in NDAA.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to get this done\u2014and I will pursue any and all legislative avenues to do so,\u201d Perlmutter said of his banking measure in a press release. \u201cThis is yet another opportunity for the Senate to advance common sense cannabis reforms starting with access to the banking system. I\u2019m calling on them to take action for the safety of our communities and success of Veteran- and minority-owned businesses across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Today marks the *7th time* the #SAFEBankingAct<\/a> has passed the U.S. House.<\/p>\n I\u2019m calling on the Senate to take action for the safety of our communities and success of Veteran- and minority-owned businesses across the country.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to get this done. #SAFEBanking<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rep. Ed Perlmutter (@RepPerlmutter) July 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Meanwhile, the co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus\u2014Blumenauer and Mast, along with Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Dave Joyce (R-OH), released a joint statement saying that \u201cthe need to establish a more rational approach to federal cannabis policy has never been greater.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore than 91 percent of the American public live in states where adult use of cannabis is legal in some forms. Yet outdated and archaic federal regulations on the sale, distribution, and ability to access basic economic services continue to disproportionally harm countless communities, including our veterans,\u201d they said, adding that the passage of the new provisions is \u201ca significant step in remedying the federal government\u2019s failed approach to cannabis through commonsense, bipartisan policy.\u201d<\/p>\n The Perlmutter, Blumenauer and Clark measures<\/a>\u00a0 on banking and veterans were adopted<\/a> as part of an en bloc package with dozens of other amendments by a roll call vote of 277-150, and the Ocasio-Cortez proposal on drug crop fumigation was included in another group that passed with a 330-99 vote. All of the other amendments were adopted in separate packages via voice votes.<\/p>\n What remains to be seen is which, if any, of these amendments makes it through conference after the Senate advances its version of NDAA. The chamber has generally been viewed as a barrier to enacting drug policy reform, especially with Republican minority leadership frequently challenging amendment germaneness.<\/p>\n New York Marijuana Regulators Approve Rules To Start Accepting Retailer Applications From People Harmed By Drug War<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post House Approves More Marijuana Amendments To Defense Bill, Including Banking And Veterans Medical Access<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved several marijuana reform amendments as part of a large-scale defense bill, including proposals to protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses and allow U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to issue medical marijuana recommendations. A total of nine drug policyContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":55915,"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\/55914"}],"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=55914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55916,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55914\/revisions\/55916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
#SAFEBankingAct<\/a>#copolitics<\/a><\/p>\n
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\nRead More: House Approves More Marijuana Amendments To Defense Bill, Including Banking And Veterans Medical Access<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"