WASHINGTON — Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer would promote federal research into the effectiveness of offering medicinal marijuana to veterans coping with chronic paint or post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD.
Meijer, R-Grand Rapids, introduced the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2021 with Rep. Luis Correa, D-California and Sens. Jon Tester, D-Montana, and Dan Sullivan, R-Arkansas, in Congress Monday. Correa previously introduced the bill in Congress’ last session in 2019, but the bill did not advance through the House.
The legislation would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, to research the safety and efficacy of medicinal cannabis usage by veterans diagnosed with chronic pain or PTSD. The VA would also have to provide Congress with a report detailing its plan to conduct research and to report their findings and progress while conducting the study periodically.
Meijer, who is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the legislation would spur research into medical marijuana as an alternative for opioids — pain killers that can become addicting for some users.
“Veterans across the country continue to suffer from chronic pain and PTSD as a result of their service, and too many are being lost to opioid overdose and suicide here at home,” Meijer said in a statement.
“We owe it to our nation’s veterans to pursue alternative treatment that could be safer and more effective. There remains a need for increased research and trials on cannabis as an alternative treatment, and this bill will help ensure that the VA moves forward with these studies expeditiously.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 1 in 10 veterans who seek care at the VA meet the criteria to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder, which is higher than the rate of the typical U.S. population.
Researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse say stress-inducing factors in military life, including training, deployment, returning and leaving home and others can play a role in eventual substance abuse during or after military service.