

Military veterans would be legally allowed to use medical marijuana under newly filed legislation.

Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) on Wednesday introduced the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act that would give Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians the power to issue medical marijuana recommendations in accordance with state laws, reports Forbes’ Tom Angell.

“Federal law prohibits VA doctors from prescribing or recommending medical marijuana to veterans,” Sen. Nelson said in a press release. “This legislation will allow veterans in Florida and elsewhere the same access to legitimately prescribed medication, just as any other patient in those 31 states would have.”

The new law would also allow veterans to “use, possess, or transport medical marijuana in accordance with the laws of the State in which the use, possession, or transport occurs.”

It would also require the VA to conduct studies on “the effects of medical marijuana on veterans in pain” and “the relationship between treatment programs involving medical marijuana that are approved by States, the access of veterans to such programs, and a reduction in opioid abuse among veterans.” Such studies would be allocated $15 million for research.

“People who have served their country should have an easier time accessing the medicine that works for them, not harder,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, in a written statement. “More ability to participate in state-legal cannabis programs with the help of their own doctors will improve quality of life for many veterans, and hopefully increase their interest in taking part in the rapidly expanding legal cannabis industry. We hope that the rest of Congress will support this legislation and help protect those who protect us.”

A 2017 poll conducted by the American Legion found that 81 percent of military veteran households want medical cannabis legalized on a federal level.

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