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From marijuana.com
Lawmakers Keep Fighting for Veterans Medical Marijuana Amendment
By Tom Angell on June 28, 2016
Congressional leaders blocked medical marijuana protections for military veterans last week, but the lawmakers sponsoring the legislation arent giving up.
Despite strong bipartisan votes in both the House and Senate to allow veterans to receive medical marijuana recommendations through the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.), the final bill approved by a conference committee of lawmakers from both chambers contained nothing on the topic.
We strongly believe the inclusion of either the House or Senate language in the final text should have been nonnegotiable, a bipartisan group of 11 members of Congress wrote in a letter to congressional leaders on Tuesday. We feel the failure of the conferees to include either provision is a drastic misfortune for veterans and is contrary to the will of both chambers as demonstrated by the strong bipartisan support for these provisions. We urge you to act to ensure one of these provisions is included in any final funding bill sent to the president.
Last month, the House approved an amendment to let veterans get medical marijuana recommendations from V.A. doctors by a vote of 233 189. On the same day, the Senate passed its version of legislation to fund the V.A. through 2017, which included a medical marijuana provision that had already been attached to the bill by the bodys Appropriations Committee in a vote of 20 10.
The Veterans Health Administration effectively prohibits V.A. physicians from taking any steps toward providing their own clinical judgment when discussing or recommending the use of cannabis with their patients, the supportive lawmakers wrote to the House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders.
The letter was first reported by Military Times and is signed by U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jared Polis (D-CO), Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
As a result of current policy, veterans who want medical marijuana are forced to seek recommendations from doctors outside the V.A., which can be costly and time-consuming.
But the effort to pass medical marijuana protections for veterans may not yet be dead for the year.
The House approved the conference committee report on the V.A. bill last week, but on Tuesday a Senate procedural motion failed to earn enough votes to allow the legislation move forward. While the main dispute on the bill surrounds funding to fight the Zika virus, medical cannabis supporters will now likely get another chance to convince conferees to reconsider including the marijuana language.
The veterans medical cannabis language approved by the House and Senate differed somewhat.
The Senate bill read:
A source on Capitol Hill told Marijuana.com that legislators from both chambers agreed to push the conferees to accept the Senate language. But those entreaties fell on deaf ears, leaving supporters with nothing.
The V.A. policy disallowing its doctors from recommending medical marijuana in states where it is legal actually expired on January 31 but, under the departments procedures, the ban technically remains in effect until a new policy is enacted.
Advocates expect a new policy soon, but arent sure what it will say. In February 2015, a top V.A. official testified before a House committee that the department is undertaking active discussions about how to address the growing number of veterans who are seeking cannabis treatments.
In the meantime, it appears that Congressional negotiators are going to have to revisit the V.A. funding bill and work to make revisions that can earn enough votes to send it to the presidents desk.
http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/06/lawmakers-keep-fighting-for-veterans-medical-marijuana-amendment/
Lawmakers Keep Fighting for Veterans Medical Marijuana Amendment
By Tom Angell on June 28, 2016
Congressional leaders blocked medical marijuana protections for military veterans last week, but the lawmakers sponsoring the legislation arent giving up.
Despite strong bipartisan votes in both the House and Senate to allow veterans to receive medical marijuana recommendations through the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.), the final bill approved by a conference committee of lawmakers from both chambers contained nothing on the topic.
We strongly believe the inclusion of either the House or Senate language in the final text should have been nonnegotiable, a bipartisan group of 11 members of Congress wrote in a letter to congressional leaders on Tuesday. We feel the failure of the conferees to include either provision is a drastic misfortune for veterans and is contrary to the will of both chambers as demonstrated by the strong bipartisan support for these provisions. We urge you to act to ensure one of these provisions is included in any final funding bill sent to the president.
Last month, the House approved an amendment to let veterans get medical marijuana recommendations from V.A. doctors by a vote of 233 189. On the same day, the Senate passed its version of legislation to fund the V.A. through 2017, which included a medical marijuana provision that had already been attached to the bill by the bodys Appropriations Committee in a vote of 20 10.
The Veterans Health Administration effectively prohibits V.A. physicians from taking any steps toward providing their own clinical judgment when discussing or recommending the use of cannabis with their patients, the supportive lawmakers wrote to the House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders.
The letter was first reported by Military Times and is signed by U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jared Polis (D-CO), Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
As a result of current policy, veterans who want medical marijuana are forced to seek recommendations from doctors outside the V.A., which can be costly and time-consuming.
But the effort to pass medical marijuana protections for veterans may not yet be dead for the year.
The House approved the conference committee report on the V.A. bill last week, but on Tuesday a Senate procedural motion failed to earn enough votes to allow the legislation move forward. While the main dispute on the bill surrounds funding to fight the Zika virus, medical cannabis supporters will now likely get another chance to convince conferees to reconsider including the marijuana language.
The veterans medical cannabis language approved by the House and Senate differed somewhat.
The Senate bill read:
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Veterans Affairs in this Act may be used in a manner that would
(1) interfere with the ability of a veteran to participate in a medicinal marijuana program approved by a State;
(2) deny any services from the Department to a veteran who is participating in such a program; or
(3) limit or interfere with the ability of a health care provider of the Department to make appropriate recommendations, fill out forms, or take steps to comply with such a program.
Whereas the House bill said:(1) interfere with the ability of a veteran to participate in a medicinal marijuana program approved by a State;
(2) deny any services from the Department to a veteran who is participating in such a program; or
(3) limit or interfere with the ability of a health care provider of the Department to make appropriate recommendations, fill out forms, or take steps to comply with such a program.
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement, administer, or enforce Veterans Health Administration directive 2011-004 (or directive of the same substance) with respect to the prohibition on VA providers from completing forms seeking recommendations or opinions regarding a Veterans participation in a State marijuana program.
The new letter from the supportive lawmakers says that the House and Senate sponsors of the legislation wrote to the conferees requesting inclusion of the language and providing guidance on a preferred outcome.
A source on Capitol Hill told Marijuana.com that legislators from both chambers agreed to push the conferees to accept the Senate language. But those entreaties fell on deaf ears, leaving supporters with nothing.
The V.A. policy disallowing its doctors from recommending medical marijuana in states where it is legal actually expired on January 31 but, under the departments procedures, the ban technically remains in effect until a new policy is enacted.
Advocates expect a new policy soon, but arent sure what it will say. In February 2015, a top V.A. official testified before a House committee that the department is undertaking active discussions about how to address the growing number of veterans who are seeking cannabis treatments.
In the meantime, it appears that Congressional negotiators are going to have to revisit the V.A. funding bill and work to make revisions that can earn enough votes to send it to the presidents desk.
http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/06/lawmakers-keep-fighting-for-veterans-medical-marijuana-amendment/
