A bipartisan group of lawmakers are pushing to allow the Veterans Affairs Department to conduct research into medical marijuana, saying it could help former military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.
The top lawmakers on the House Veterans Affairs Committee joined more than 30 colleagues in introducing the 2018 VA Medicinal Cannabis Act (H.R. 5520) on Tuesday. The introduction followed a pronouncement from the Trump administration that while VA was “committed to researching and developing ways to help” veterans cope with PTSD and chronic pain, federal law prevented it from engaging in any research—including referring patients to outside studies—involving medical marijuana.
The measure would promote such research by clarifying it is “well within the authority of VA” and requiring the department to report to Congress on how it plans to exercise that authority. Lawmakers said they expected the bill would improve and save veterans’ lives. Members of both parties said they had heard from veterans who praised the benefits of medical cannabis, especially compared to the opioids they had been prescribed.
“While we know cannabis can have life-saving effects on veterans suffering from chronic pain or PTSD, there has been a severe lack of research studying the full effect of medicinal cannabis on these veterans,” said Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the ranking member of the House VA committee and the author of the bill. “Simply put, there is no department or organization better suited to conduct this critically important research than VA, and there will never be a better time to act.”
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