Twenty-one
lawmakers have written Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald
urging him to let VA doctors discuss and recommend marijuana as a
potential medical treatment in states where it is legal.
Under a
VA policy that expires on Jan. 31, VA doctors are not allowed to discuss
medical marijuana with their patients or recommend it as a treatment.
Senators
and representatives — 19 Democrats and two Republicans, including Rep.
Joe Heck of Nevada, a physician and Army Reserve brigadier general who
chairs the House Armed Services personnel panel — want a new policy that
“removes barriers that would interfere with the doctor-patient
relationship” in states where medical marijuana is legal.
The policy, lawmaker say, “disincentivizes doctors and patients from being honest with each other.”
“You
are in a position to make this change when the current directive
expires at the end of this month,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen.
Steve Daines, D-Mont., and others wrote Wednesday to McDonald. “We ask
that you act to ensure that our veterans’ access to care is not
compromised and that doctors and patients are allowed to have honest
discussions about treatment options.”
Twenty-three states and the
District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, and 17 states
have laws regulating oils derived from marijuana plants.
However, marijuana possession and use continues to be a crime under federal law.
Last
year, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to the
Veterans Affairs spending bill that would have required VA to change its
policy on physicians discussing medical marijuana with patients. House
lawmakers had introduced similar legislation, but the provision was
stripped from the final version of the comprehensive spending bill.
Also
in 2015, Gillibrand and Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rand Paul,
R-Ky., sponsored a bill seeking reclassification of marijuana as a
Schedule II drug, which would allow researchers to study the plant's
effectiveness as a medicine without having to go through the long
bureaucratic process currently required.
In November, Democratic
presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a bill
that would repeal all federal penalties for possessing and growing
marijuana.
Sanders' bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee but has no co-sponsors.
The
VA recommends that its physicians use "evidence-based" practices —
therapies proved by scientific research to be effective — to treat
mental and physical health conditions such as post-traumatic stress
disorder, depression and pain.
There has been no research in the
U.S. on the effectiveness of medical marijuana for relieving symptoms of
PTSD or other conditions, although some veterans groups and marijuana
legalization advocates say it does help relieve symptoms of
combat-related PTS and anxiety.
Last January, the state of
Colorado gave a $2 million grant to the Multidisciplinary Association
for Psychedelic Studies to conduct research on using marijuana to treat
post-traumatic stress.
Dr. Sue Sisley, who is spearheading that research, is expected to start her work this year.
In
July, Colorado health officials voted against adding PTSD to the
state’s list of eligible ailments for medical marijuana. Voting members
of the Board of Health said there was not enough research to support its
use as an effective treatment.
Additional lawmakers who signed
Wednesday's letter to McDonald were: Booker, and Sens. Barbara Boxer,
D-Calif.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Tammy Baldwin,
D-Wis.; Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Elizabeth
Warren, D-Mass.; and Reps. Sam Farr, D-Calif.; Jared Polis, D-Colo.;
Chellie Pingree, D-Maine; Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Justin Amash, R-Mich.;
and Mark Pocan, D-Wis.
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