It got little attention last week, but one U.S. House vote passed Thursday is some kind of major victory for veterans fighting pain.
By a 233-189 vote, House members said yes to the Veterans Equal Access Amendment, a bipartisan measure that will allow Veterans Administration (VA) doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in the 26 states where it is legal.
Florida is one of those states.
The vote already passed the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, but narrowly failed last year in the House. It's likely now to make the final spending bill.
“We are delighted to lift this outdated, discriminatory policy, which has negatively impacted the lives of so many veterans.” said Michael Collins, deputy director for the Drug Policy Alliance’s Office of National Affairs. “We need all options on the table to treat veterans, and finally Congress has seen sense and will allow veterans to be on an equal footing to other residents of medical marijuana states.”
I admit, I have a personal interest in this. Our daughter Kirsty, a veteran wounded in Central America, has suffered from fibromyalgia for at least the last 16 years. (It was only diagnosed 16 years ago.) Without medication, she is in constant pain. But the three fibro drugs on the market -- Cymbalta, Lyrica and Savella -- all carry frightening risks. Read this article, for example, on the side effects of Big Pharma's fibro "answers."
I'm sure you can guess the one answer that has no risk. It's medical cannabis. But it wasn't available to Kirsty or anybody else through the VA, where she goes for treatment. Now it looks as if it could be an option by the end of the year.
The Veterans Equal Access Amendment was led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who has been out on a limb championing this issue for years. It was cosponsored by a bipartisan group including Reps. Heck, R-Nev., Farr, D-Calif., Rohrabacher, R-Calif., Reed, R-N.Y., Titus, D-Nev., Lee, D-Calif., Gallego, D-Ariz. and Polis, D-Colo. It was added on the floor to a must-pass Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill. The same amendment narrowly failed last year, losing by 3 votes. This year a happier fate: The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the amendment in April of this year, 20 votes to 10.
Right now, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits its medical providers from completing forms their patients bring them seeking recommendations or opinions regarding participation in a state medical marijuana program. The directive expired in January 2016, but would remain in force without Congressional action. What the Blumenauer amendment does is to authorize VA physicians and other health care providers to give recommendations and opinions about the use of medical marijuana to veterans who live in medical marijuana states.
A legislative version of this amendment was included in groundbreaking Senate medical marijuana legislation introduced 14 months ago, in March 2015. The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act is the first-ever bill in the U.S. Senate to legalize marijuana for medical use and the most comprehensive medical marijuana bill ever introduced in Congress.
But this amendment, specifically for veterans, is fairly groundbreaking itself, and certainly a godsend to hundreds of thousands of our wounded warriors.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
