U.S. veterans may finally have access to medical marijuana thanks to an amendment by the The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday which would allow weed for Vets and a process to obtain medical marijuana recommendations through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
As it stands today, even veterans in legal states like Colorado and Oregon are not allowed to obtain or use marijuana as the Department of Veterans Affairs doesn’t recognize the plant as having any possible therapeutic effects.
The amendment sponsors are Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). This time around, upon introducing the amendment again, Senator Merkley said “We often talk about how our soldiers stand up for us, and we need to stand up for them.”
The biggest risk today for vets who are using a secret stash is threat of losing thier military benefits. With this new law, veterans would be able to legally participate in state medical cannabis programs.
Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, said in a statement
“It is time for Congress to pass permanent legislation, such as the Carers Act that provides protections for all of the over 2 million medical cannabis patients in this country. I am happy to know that a majority of this committee is supportive of protecting the rights of veterans.”
As more research is being done, especially now that our country has more states with legalized cannabis policies, the results seem to be consistent: veterans can receive a multitude of medical and mental benefits through the use of cannabis, which is far safer than pharmaceuticals that might be prescribed for the same conditions.
