Published 2 months ago By Kyle Jaege on April 30, 2021
A pair of Republican lawmakers on Friday introduced a congressional bill meant to promote research into the medical potential of marijuana for military veterans.
This is the latest piece of legislation focused on cannabis and veterans that’s been filed this Congress. It comes one day after a bipartisan Senate bill was introduced—and on the same day that House members filed companion legislation—to require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct clinical trials into marijuana for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain in the population.
Similarly, the new proposal from Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) would give VA a research mandate. The Veterans Cannabis Analysis, Research, and Effectiveness (CARE) Act states that the department “shall conduct and support research relating to the efficacy and safety of forms of cannabis” for chronic pain, PTSD and “other conditions the Secretary determines appropriate.”