U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley wants veterans to receive access to medical cannabis through Veterans Affairs clinics and hospitals.
Merkley, D-Oregon, led a left-leaning independent and seven other Democratic senators, including Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, in sending a letter late last week to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, urging him to allow medical marijuana treatment for veterans in states that have legalized its use. Medical cannabis is legal in nearly 40 states and the District of Columbia, but the federal government has not changed it alongside that trend.
The letter follows a similar plea in June spearheaded by another Democratic Oregon congressional member, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.
Oregon is home to 250,000 veterans and many rely on U.S. Department of Veterans Administration outpatient clinics in urban and rural communities and its hospitals in Portland and Roseburg. But a VA directive bars providers from recommending the use of medical marijuana or making referrals for its use. It even prevents providers from completing forms for state-authorized medical marijuana.
But advocates are hopeful the VA will loosen these restrictions following a May proposal by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It recommended that marijuana be rescheduled from Schedule 1 – the most restrictive listing possible for dangerous drugs with no recognized medical use – to Schedule III, which is less restrictive and recognizes the medical benefits of cannabis, potentially opening up treatment options.
The senators asked the VA to educate providers about the benefits of cannabis use to treat various medical conditions, including anxiety and seizures. They noted that scientific data shows it’s effective for controlling nausea and vomiting and stimulating the appetite while being much less addictive than opioids in treating pain.
“Leaving our nation’s heroes without access to effective pain management methods is unconscionable,” the letter said.
Blumenauer’s letter struck a similar tone, saying that barring medical marijuana forces veterans to seek outside care.
“No one is better qualified to make recommendations on care for veterans than veterans working with their VA health care providers,” Blumenauer wrote. “Placing arbitrary restrictions on those decisions is a disservice to our veterans.”
The letter was signed by a Republican, Rep. David Joyce of Ohio, and a Democrat, Rep. Barbara Lee of California.
In June, with a boost from Blumenauer, the House voted to 290-116 to pass an amendment to the VA’s spending bill that would end the agency’s prohibition on helping veterans access medical marijuana care. The bipartisan amendment, co-sponsored with U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Florida, would require the agency to authorize providers to discuss medical marijuana with veterans and recommend that care if they believe it is necessary.
In 1998, Oregon voters approved legalizing medical marijuana. In 2014, Oregon voters legalized recreational marijuana.
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