By Tom Angell

 

A trio of U.S. senators is encouraging the federal government to conduct more research on the medical benefits that marijuana can provide for military veterans.

An amendment submitted Monday by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Cory Booker (NJ) and Barbara Boxer (CA), all Democrats, would push the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) to “conduct clinical research on the potential benefits of therapeutic use of the cannabis plant by veterans” as a treatment for PTSD, chronic pain and other conditions. It also asks the government to examine marijuana’s potential as a “treatment to achieve and maintain abstinence from opioids and heroin.”

The measure, which the senators are trying to attach to the National Defense Authorization Act, reads:

SA 4391. Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. Booker, and Mrs. Boxer) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 
2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military 
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and 
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe 
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle I of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1097. RESEARCH BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ON 
                   THERAPEUTIC USES OF CANNABIS PLANT.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may, in 
     coordination with the National Center for Posttraumatic 
     Stress Disorder, within the limits of statutory authorities 
     and funding under other provisions of law, conduct clinical 
     research on the potential benefits of therapeutic use of the 
     cannabis plant by veterans--
       (1) to treat serious health conditions, such as 
     posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain and 
     neuropathies, sleep disorders, traumatic brain injury, 
     seizures, Parkinson's disease, cancer, spinal cord injuries, 
     human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and Crohn's disease; and
       (2) as a treatment to achieve and maintain abstinence from 
     opioids and heroin.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
     Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives a report detailing any efforts of the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs to expand the conduct of 
     research described in subsection (a).

As written, the amendment doesn’t require the V.A. to conduct any new medical marijuana research, but does mandate that the department submit a report to Congress within 180 days detailing any such studies it does carry out. If the government refuses to do any research on the benefits that cannabis can provide for veterans, it would in effect have to admit in the required report to ignoring the issue, which could be politically embarrassing.

The measure is nearly identical to an amendment the three senators submitted to a separate military funding bill last month, though the earlier proposal was not voted on.

It is unclear if the new amendment will receive a vote on the floor as the Senate debates the defense authorization bill on Tuesday, though the renewed push does come on the heels of both chambers of Congress approving legislation allowing V.A. doctors to recommend medical marijuana to military veterans in states where it is legal.

Last month, by a vote of 89-8, senators approved a bill containing language preventing the V.A. from spending money to enforce a current policy that prohibits its government doctors from filling out medical marijuana recommendation forms. The House approved an amendment to accomplish the same goal by a vote of 233-189 on the same day.

Also last month, prohibitionists succeeding in convincing the House Rules Committee to block two separate amendments that would have increased medical marijuana research by the federal government.

A poll released Monday by Qunnipiac University found that 87 percent of U.S. voters support allowing V.A. doctors to prescribe medical cannabis to veterans in pill form and that 89 percent support the concept of medical marijuana in general.