Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is pushing to add an amendment to a must-pass military bill that would require the Department of Defense to study the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and MDMA for military service members.
The congresswoman recently filed the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would build on a separate provision already attached to the bill in committee that only gives a DOD mandate to research marijuana as an opioid alternative for military members with certain health conditions.
This new amendment is substantively identical to one recently filed by a controversial GOP congressman, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). There are some technical differences between the two, but the intent appears to be the same. Marijuana Moment reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment on the reasoning behind filing the virtually identical amendment, but a representative was not immediately available.
Gaetz, for his part, told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that he and Ocasio-Cortez “have joined in sponsoring similar legislation previously.”
“I care about the veterans, not the credit,” the congressman said. “I just hope the Rules committee allows a vote on one of the amendments in the full House.”
The original cannabis-focused provision that’s already attached to NDAA
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