Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a qualifying condition in just about all 39 states with medical cannabis programs in the U.S., yet veterans often hide their use from government health providers out of fear of losing their benefits.
U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., is hoping that changes.
The co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus reintroduced the Veterans Equal Access Act on Feb. 14, a bill that aims to authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care providers to provide recommendations and opinions to veterans regarding their participation in state-licensed cannabis programs.
The legislation, House Bill 1384, is a straightforward two-pager that Mast also sponsored in previous congresses.
“The transition from military to civilian life can be challenging,” Mast wrote in a Feb. 18 blog about his reintroduced legislation. “Whether it’s a visible scar of battle or a struggle with their mental health, the effects of service can be long-lasting, and I believe veterans deserve every possible tool to heal.”
Before his election to Congress in 2016, Mast served in the U.S. Army for more than 12 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan, where he worked as a bomb disposal expert under the Joint Special Operations Command. In 2010, a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) in Kandahar resulted in catastrophic injuries, including the amputation of both his legs.
Mast received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal for Valor, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, but he still can’t receive a VA recommendation for medical cannabis.
This week, Mast pointed to studies that have shown medical cannabis can help treat neuropathic pain, PTSD and depression.
“But right now, our veterans—whether their state has legalized medical marijuana or not—are specifically prohibited from participating in medical marijuana programs,” he wrote. “With more and more states now moving to legalize medical marijuana, I believe that Department of Veterans Affairs physicians in these states should also be allowed to consider medical marijuana as a treatment option.”
While VA doctors aren’t prohibited from discussing cannabis with their patients, some veterans perhaps view those discussions as irrelevant when considering no recommendation can come from them.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq, reintroduced legislation on Feb. 4, the Veterans Cannabis Use for Safe Healing Act, which aims to prohibit the VA from denying veteran benefits because of participation in a state-approved cannabis program.
Under Mast’s proposal, VA care providers could recommend medical cannabis to veterans, for them to access through state-licensed dispensaries, but the VA physicians would not dispense the cannabis themselves.
“This bill is a simple fix that would make it easier for qualified veterans to access medical marijuana in states where it is legal, like Florida,” Mast wrote. “It’s about ensuring doctors can have discussions with their patients about all possible options to improve their quality of life and treat the visible and invisible wounds of war.”
Florida Republican Brian Mast reintroduced the Veterans Equal Access Act to allow government health care providers to recommend medical cannabis. Read More
