[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCTION OF THE VETERANS EQUAL ACCESS ACT

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 20, 2014

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the bipartisan 
Veterans Equal Access Act along with my colleagues Dana Rohrabacher, 
Dina Titus, Justin Amash, Paul Broun, Walter Jones, Thomas Massie, Sam 
Farr, Jared Polis, Beto O'Rourke, Steve Stockman and Steve Cohen, 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  While outdated federal barriers often prevent the research necessary 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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