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Green News Now: Legal cannabis for our Veterans

One of the first cannabis laws for 2020 could be the 2 bills addressing medical cannabis use for veterans. A proposed bill put forward by Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D) called The Veterans Equal Access Act, would let VA doctors make medical cannabis treatment recommendations in states where medical cannabis access is legal. The second proposal comes from California Rep. Lou Correa (D), titles The VA Medical Cannabis Research Act, would require the VA to investigate the effectiveness of medical cannabis in treating PTSD and other afflictions commonly faced by combat veterans.

This could mean a lot for many veterans looking for ways to get off medications such as opioids pain pills, sleep medicines and anxiety pills. Previously both the House and the Senate approved annual spending bills containing riders that block the VA from punishing doctors for writing medical marijuana recommendations, but still no measure has been enacted into law. Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) also filed an amendment to add provisions stating that veterans may not be denied VA benefits as a result of state-legal marijuana use and further clarifying that VA doctors can discuss cannabis consumption with patients and record it in their medical records.

Nevertheless, there’s renewed hope that the committee’s move to advance the legislation means full floor votes might be on the way.

The reality is veterans among many other critical patients are going to get the medicine that works for them from somewhere. As we’ve seen with parents and kids on spectrum families will move to states where they can legally get the medicine that works for them. How is this going to affect the economy of the states that do not participate in legal cannabis laws?

Resources:

https://www.ganjapreneur.com/house-committee-approves-medical-cannabis-for-veterans/

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/watch-live-first-congressional-marijuana-votes-of-2020/

Image Credit:

Medium.com