A GOP congressman has reintroduced a bill aimed at providing military veterans with access to medical marijuana.
Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, filed the Veterans Equal Access Act last week—the latest attempt to enact the measure that’s enjoyed bipartisan support over recent sessions but has yet to become law.
The bill would allow government doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where it’s legal. They department would not provide cannabis, however, and veterans would use those recommendations to access it under existing state-legal dispensaries.
The veterans reform proposal, which mirrors committee-approved versions from past years, has also previously been pursued through the appropriations process as an amendment.
The Veterans Equal Access Act is a concise bill that supporters say would provide a modest but meaningful reform for the veteran community.
VA doctors are currently allowed to discuss medical cannabis with patients, but they’re not specifically authorized to issue recommendations, even in states that have legalized the plant for medical or recreational use.
The Congressional Budget Office conducted a fiscal analysis of an earlier version of the bill in 2020, finding that it would not cost the
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