GOP Lawmaker Reintroduces Bill to Allow VA Doctors to Recommend Medical Marijuana for Veterans
Florida Representative Brian Mast, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, has reintroduced the Veterans Equal Access Act, a bill aimed at providing military veterans with access to medical marijuana. The legislation would allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where it is legal. However, the VA would not provide the cannabis, and veterans would use those recommendations to access it through existing state-legal dispensaries.
The bill has enjoyed bipartisan support in previous sessions but has yet to become law. It mirrors committee-approved versions from past years and has also been pursued through the appropriations process as an amendment. The Congressional Budget Office found in 2020 that the bill would not cost the government anything to implement.
Currently, VA doctors are allowed to discuss medical cannabis with patients but are not authorized to issue recommendations, even in states that have legalized the plant for medical or recreational use. Mast’s bill aims to provide a modest but meaningful reform for the veteran community.
The Veterans Equal Access Act is the second standalone cannabis legislation to be filed in the 119th Congress. The first, sponsored by Representative Greg Steube, seeks to protect military veterans from losing government benefits for using medical cannabis in compliance with state law. That measure would also codify that VA doctors are allowed to discuss the potential risks and benefits of marijuana with their patients.
Advocates and stakeholders are also awaiting the reintroduction of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would protect banks from being penalized by federal regulators for working with state-legal cannabis businesses.
