A congressional committee has approved a pair of GOP-led marijuana and psychedelics bills focused on military veterans’ access.
About a month after the House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee held an initial hearing on the legislation, members passed both proposals as part of an en bloc package with other measures under unanimous consent on Tuesday.
The medical cannabis measure, sponsored by the subcommittee chair Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), is titled the Veterans Cannabis Analysis, Research, and Effectiveness (CARE) Act.
“My bill proposes research on non-opioid pain relief options for veterans with chronic pain and PTSD,” Miller-Meeks told colleagues ahead of the vote. “I want to emphasize that this bill is intended solely for research purposes. Gathering more data will enhance our ability to effectively treat our veterans.”
The proposal would require VA to “conduct and support research relating to the efficacy and safety of forms of cannabis” for chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and “other conditions the Secretary determines appropriate.”
The legislation specifies that the VA studies must involve plants and extracts, at least three varieties of cannabis with different concentrations of THC and CBD and “varying methods of cannabis delivery, including topical application, combustable and non-combustable inhalation, and ingestion.”
VA would
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