Senators are launching an effort to again urge the Department of Veterans Affairs to explore medicinal cannabis as an alternative treatment for Veterans, introducing legislation that would kickstart clinical trials on using cannabis to treat chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Montana, and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, reintroduced the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act this week to test the effectiveness of cannabis on two of the most common health concerns among Veterans.
“VA needs to take its cues from the growing number of Veterans who find critical relief through medicinal cannabis in treating the wounds of war,” Tester said. “Our bipartisan bill ensures VA takes proactive steps to explore medicinal cannabis as a safe and effective alternative to opioids for Veterans suffering from injuries both seen and unseen. This is a necessary step in taking care of the folks who fought and sacrificed on our behalf.”
The devastation of the opioid epidemic in American has already shown the need for alternative treatments, especially for pain, Sullivan said.
"Medicinal cannabis is already in use by thousands of Veterans across the country, but we don’t yet have the data we need to understand the potential benefits and side effects associated with this alternative therapy," Sullivan added.
VA has long used marijuana's position on the federal controlled substances list as a reason not to incorporate it into Veterans' care. In a historic vote last year, the House passed a bill to allow VA to recommend cannabis to Veterans. That bill, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, would also remove federal penalties on marijuana and erase nonviolent marijuana-related criminal records -- allowing states to continue to take the lead on prohibition or legalization themselves. The House vote on the MORE Act last year was one of the most significant steps from Congress so far in changing federal cannabis policy, but the bill never got a vote in the Senate.
The MORE Act also included measures to treat Veterans' physical and mental health conditions, allow Veteran patients to travel across state lines with their medication and decriminalize the drug at the federal level. Now, Tester and Sullivan have introduced a standalone bill specifically for more research for Veterans.
VA senior leaders have told Capitol Hill lawmakers again and again that the reason they will not allow VA physicians to recommend cannabis use for Veteran patients -- even in states where it is legal -- is because of the federal prohibition. It would put doctors and VA at legal risk, they argued, as lawmaker after lawmaker and advocate after advocate questioned, pushed and promoted the drug's potential use for a variety of Veterans' health concerns. VA leaders said it would take an act of Congress for things to change at the department.
Past attempts by Congress to expand Veterans' access -- even those with some bipartisan support -- have been met with opposition from VA leaders. In the Senate, some of those measures have been met with opposition from Republican leadership.
Cannabis use for Veterans has gained some traction among lawmakers in Congress, but none of the legislation has made significant progress, and some of it has been shut out entirely, especially in the Senate. While some Veterans have, anecdotally, shared that cannabis has benefitted them, including in some cases helping to prevent suicide, many lawmakers remain unconvinced, calling for more evidence-based conclusions before a decision can be made. But lawmakers also have supported other alternative treatments and therapies for Vets that, in some cases, have questionable efficacy for Veterans' health concerns.
Some Veterans fear their use or potential use of cannabis could jeopardize their VA benefits and lawmakers have even introduced bills to prevent exactly that. But VA says on its website that "Veterans will not be denied VA benefits because of marijuana use." Lawmakers have filed a few bills to codify that and ensure that VA could not take benefits from Veterans for their cannabis use. None have passed so far.
Dr. Ben Kligler of the Veterans Health Administration told Connecting Vets previously that Veterans can talk to their VA doctors about cannabis use and ensure use will not interact negatively with existing medications, but VA doctors cannot prescribe or recommend its use to Veterans, or replace existing medication with medical cannabis.
The legislation introduced by Tester and Sullivan this week already has backing from some of the largest and most influential Veteran service organizations in the country. The bill not only calls for clinical trials for cannabis but also requires that the trials examine the different forms and methods Veterans could take the drug.
"VFW members tell us that medicinal cannabis has helped them cope with chronic pain and other service-connected health conditions," said Tammy Bartlet, associate director for national legislative affairs at VFW. "They cannot receive these services at VA because of VA’s bureaucratic hurdles. VA uses evidence-based clinical guidelines to manage other pharmacological treatments of post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and substance use disorder because medical trials have found them effective. VA must expand research on the efficacy of non-traditional medical therapies, such as medicinal cannabis and other holistic approaches.”
"Eighty-eight percent of IAVA members support the research of cannabis for medicinal purposes and Veterans consistently and passionately have communicated that cannabis offers effective help in tackling some of the most pressing injuries we face when returning from war," said IAVA CEO Jeremy Butler.
“DAV has long-supported further VA research into medicinal cannabis, along with other alternative approaches, as a means of alleviating chronic pain, symptoms of PTSD and other conditions that affect so many disabled Veterans,” said Joy J. Ilem, national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans. “As with any other form of treatment, it is essential to understand the safety, efficacy, potential side-effects and risks, and we believe the VA Medical Cannabis Research Act will be an important step in that process.
Multiple polls show a vast majority of Veterans agree that medical cannabis should be legal. Most Americans overall believe cannabis in all its uses should be legal. Surveys by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Wounded Warrior Project have consistently shown a majority of Veterans who responded are interested in using cannabis or cannabinoid products if available, some already use them, and most want more research and for VA to drive that research.
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