A GOP congressman has filed the first marijuana bill of the 119th Congress, seeking to protect military veterans from losing government benefits for using medical cannabis in compliance with state law.
The measure from Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) would also codify that U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors are allowed to discuss the potential risks and benefits of marijuana with their patients.
Steube has consistently championed this specific reform, filing multiple versions of the “Veterans Cannabis Use for Safe Healing Act” over the past several Congresses. This latest version is identical to the last two bills he introduced.
VA doctors are currently permitted to discuss cannabis with patients and document their usage in medical records, and those veteran patients are already shielded by agency policy from losing their benefits for marijuana use—but the bill would enshrine these policies into federal statute so they could not be administratively changed in the future.
“As a veteran, I’m committed to ensuring that veterans receive the care they deserve, and I know that sometimes that care can include medical marijuana,” Steube said in a statement to Marijuana Moment when he filed the last version. “Receiving the appropriate treatment to address your health care
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