The 119th Congress appears poised to take yet another look at medical cannabis for military veterans who rely on the Veterans Administration (VA) for healthcare. Thanks to a bill filed by Florida Rep. Brian Mast, lawmakers will have yet another opportunity to give veterans access to treatments their doctors are otherwise prevented from recommending.
A report from Marijuana Moment says the bill has bipartisan support. If passed and signed into law, the bill would allow VA doctors to recommend medical cannabis to patients living in states where it has already been legalized. But recommendations would be subject to state law. In addition, the VA would not dispense medical cannabis. Patients would have to obtain state medical cannabis cards and purchase their medicines through normal channels.
Differences in State Law
Differences in state law cannot be overlooked in this discussion. Veterans looking forward to the possibility of using medical cannabis need to remember that laws vary from one state to the next. Take Utah as an example.
Utah has one of the shortest qualifying conditions lists among all states with legal medical cannabis. Their list includes two types of pain: chronic pain lasting more than a few weeks and acute pain a doctor would otherwise treat with prescription opioids.
Every state with legal medical cannabis includes chronic pain on its qualifying conditions list. But only a limited number include acute pain. The operators of Brigham City’s Beehive Farmacy explain that acute pain was added in Utah to give surgical patients an alternative to opioids. Why other states have not done the same thing is a bit of a mystery.
If the Law Doesn’t Pass
Getting back to the legislation now before Congress, it is not clear if the bill will ever get out of committee, let alone go to the floor for a full vote. Despite bipartisan support, there are never any guarantees when the majorities in both chambers are so slim.
We also have the SAFE Banking Act and its history to look at for precedent. SAFE has been introduced every year for several years in a row. It passes the House only to die in the Senate. It is going to be introduced again in 2025.
If the VA bill does not pass, veterans will not be able to receive medical cannabis recommendations from their VA doctors. Any plans to use medical cannabis will force a patient to see a private doctor and pay for the consultation out of pocket.
On the positive side, VA doctors are not currently banned from discussing cannabis with their patients. They are only restricted from making actual recommendations. Doctors and patients can still have frank discussions about the benefits and potential downsides of medical cannabis treatment. A patient can then ultimately make that choice for himself.
VA Access in Prohibitionist States
Should the bill become law, it would only apply to patients in states with legal medical cannabis. VA doctors working at facilities in prohibitionist states would be barred from making medical cannabis recommendations. Simply put, passing the legislation would subject the VA to state laws – at least on this particular matter.
Given the relatively affordable cost of a private consultation, I can’t imagine that the bill’s failure will stop veterans from accessing medical cannabis through non-VA doctors. Nonetheless, pushing the bill over the finish line would be an immense help to veterans who rely almost entirely on the VA for healthcare.
Will it pass? We can only wait on lawmakers to see what they do. If I were a betting man, I would say they pass the bill before summer.
