[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5520 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 533
115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5520

                          [Report No. 115-690]

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use the authority of 
   the Secretary to conduct and support research on the efficacy and 
         safety of medicinal cannabis, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 16, 2018

Mr. Walz (for himself, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, and Mr. Correa) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

                              May 18, 2018

   Additional sponsors: Mr. Takano, Ms. Brownley of California, Mr. 
 Coffman, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Mr. Peters, Mr. O'Rourke, Miss 
 Rice of New York, Ms. Esty of Connecticut, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Gaetz, 
  Mr. Clay, Mr. Jones, Mr. Rohrabacher, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of 
 Texas, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Raskin, Ms. McCollum, Mr. 
Kihuen, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Panetta, Mr. 
  Polis, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Titus, Mr. Crist, Mr. Joyce of 
 Ohio, Ms. Lee, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Heck, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Shea-Porter, 
  Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Swalwell of California, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Thomas J. 
 Rooney of Florida, Mr. Rush, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Curbelo of Florida, 
 Ms. Norton, Mr. Costello of Pennsylvania, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Khanna, 
 Mr. Moulton, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Mr. Brendan F. 
    Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Soto, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Lamb, Mr. 
                       Carbajal, and Mr. Quigley

                              May 18, 2018

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 
                               16, 2018]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use the authority of 
   the Secretary to conduct and support research on the efficacy and 
         safety of medicinal cannabis, and for other purposes.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act 
of 2018''.

SEC. 2. CONDUCT OF RESEARCH INTO EFFECTS OF CANNABIS ON HEALTH OUTCOMES 
              OF CERTAIN VETERANS.

    (a) Research.--In carrying out the responsibilities of the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 7303 of title 38, United 
States Code, the Secretary may conduct and support research relating to 
the efficacy and safety of forms of cannabis described in subsection 
(c) on the health outcomes of covered veterans diagnosed with chronic 
pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other conditions the 
Secretary determines appropriate. The Secretary shall ensure that such 
research is conducted in accordance with applicable regulations 
relating to the oversight of research, including such regulations 
prescribed by the Office of Research and Development of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services 
(including through the National Institute on Drug Abuse), the Food and 
Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the 
National Institutes of Health.
    (b) Data Preservation.--Research conducted pursuant to subsection 
(a) shall include a mechanism to ensure the preservation of all data, 
including all data sets, collected or used for purposes of the research 
required by subsection (a) in a manner that will facilitate further 
research.
    (c) Forms of Cannabis To Be Researched.--The forms of cannabis 
described in this subsection are--
            (1) varying forms of cannabis, including--
                    (A) full plants and extracts;
                    (B) at least three different strains of cannabis 
                with significant variants in phenotypic traits and 
                various ratios of tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol 
                in chemical composition; and
                    (C) other chemical analogs of tetrahydrocannabinol; 
                and
            (2) varying methods of cannabis delivery, including topical 
        application, combustible and non-combustible inhalation, and 
        ingestion.
    (d) Implementation.--If the Secretary conducts and supports 
research under subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
            (1) before conducting and supporting such research, develop 
        a plan to implement this section and submit such plan to the 
        Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives 
        and the Senate; and
            (2) issue any requests for proposals the Secretary 
        determines appropriate for such implementation.
    (e) Reports.--During the five-year period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit periodically, but 
not less frequently than annually, to the Committees on Veterans' 
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate reports on--
            (1) the implementation of this section; or
            (2) the rationale of the Secretary with respect to 
        determining not to implement this section.
    (f) Covered Veteran Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered 
veteran'' means a veteran who is enrolled in the patient enrollment 
system of the Department of Veterans Affairs under section 1705 of 
title 38, United States Code.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 533

115th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 5520

                          [Report No. 115-690]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use the authority of 
   the Secretary to conduct and support research on the efficacy and 
         safety of medicinal cannabis, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              May 18, 2018

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed