Lawmakers push VA to let doctors recommend medical marijuana By Patricia Kime, Military Times 2:36 p.m. EST January 27, 2016 Marijuana
Twenty-one lawmakers have written Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald urging him to let VA doctors discuss marijuana as a potential medical treatment in states where it is legal.
Under a VA policy that expires on Jan. 31, VA doctors are not allowed to discuss medical marijuana with their patients or recommend it as a treatment.
Senators and representatives — 19 Democrats and two Republicans, including Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada, a physician and Army Reserve brigadier general who chairs the House Armed Services personnel panel — want a new policy that “removes barriers that would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship” in states where medical marijuana is legal.....
Medical marijuana is no longer banned at the federal level. The near 2,000-page federal spending bill that was passed the other day included a provision that lifts the medical marijuana ban. The war on medical marijuana is now nearly over. “This is a victory for so many. The first time in decades that the federal government has curtailed its oppressive prohibition of marijuana.” Representative Sam Farr also weighed in on the historic move by Congress. “The federal government will finally respect the decisions made by the majority of states that passed medical marijuana laws. This is a great day for common sense because now our federal dollars will be spent more wisely on prosecuting criminals and not sick patients.”
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