Introduction of the Veterans Equal Access act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the bipartisan
Veterans Equal Access Act along with my colleagues Dana Rohrabacher,
Walter Jones, Justin Amash, Tom Reed, Richard Hanna, Dina Titus, Sam
Farr and Jared Polis, which will allow Veterans Health Administration
physicians to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states
where it is legal.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have passed laws
that provide for legal access to medical marijuana. As a result, well
over one million patients across the country, including many veterans,
now use medical marijuana at the recommendation of their physician to
treat conditions ranging from seizures, glaucoma, anxiety, chronic
pain, and nausea.
There are also nine states and the District of Columbia that now
allow physicians to recommend medical marijuana for the symptoms of
Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS), due to a growing body of anecdotal
evidence suggesting that marijuana offers relief when nothing else has.
While outdated federal barriers often prevent the research necessary
to develop marijuana into an FDA approved drug, states have heard from
their citizens, including veterans suffering from PTS, that marijuana
is helping them now, and have adjusted their laws.
Despite this growing state availability of medical marijuana, the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prohibits VA medical providers from
completing forms brought by their patients seeking recommendations or
opinions regarding participation in a state marijuana program.
The Veterans Equal Access Act would require the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to authorize physicians and other health care workers employed
by the VA to provide recommendations and opinions regarding the
participation of a veteran in a state medical marijuana program. This
includes authorizing them to fill out any forms involved in the process
of recommending medical marijuana.
Veterans should not be forced outside of the VA system to seek a
treatment that is legal in their state. VA physicians should not be
denied the ability to offer a recommendation they think may meet the
needs of their patient. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting
this effort.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source