[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 3, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E153-E154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCTION OF THE VETERANS EQUAL ACCESS ACT

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2015

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the bipartisan 
Veterans Equal Access Act along with my colleagues Dana Rohrabacher, 
Walter Jones, Justin Amash, Tom Reed, Richard Hanna, Dina Titus, Sam 
Farr and Jared Polis, which will allow Veterans Health Administration 
physicians to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states 
where it is legal.
  Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have passed laws 
that provide for legal access to medical marijuana. As a result, well 
over one million patients across the country, including many veterans, 
now use medical marijuana at the recommendation of their physician to 
treat conditions ranging from seizures, glaucoma, anxiety, chronic 
pain, and nausea.
  There are also nine states and the District of Columbia that now 
allow physicians to recommend medical marijuana for the symptoms of 
Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS), due to a growing body of anecdotal 
evidence suggesting that marijuana offers relief when nothing else has.
  While outdated federal barriers often prevent the research necessary 
to develop marijuana into an FDA approved drug, states have heard from 
their citizens, including veterans suffering from PTS, that marijuana 
is helping them now, and have adjusted their laws.
  Despite this growing state availability of medical marijuana, the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prohibits VA medical providers from 
completing forms brought by their patients seeking recommendations or 
opinions regarding participation in a state marijuana program.
  The Veterans Equal Access Act would require the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to authorize physicians and other health care workers employed 
by the VA to provide recommendations and opinions regarding the 
participation of a veteran in a state medical marijuana program. This 
includes authorizing them to fill out any forms involved in the process 
of recommending medical marijuana.
  Veterans should not be forced outside of the VA system to seek a 
treatment that is legal in their state. VA physicians should not be 
denied the ability to offer a recommendation they think may meet the 
needs of their patient. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting 
this effort.

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