Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
One of the nation's most conservative veterans' groups is appealing to President Donald Trump to reclassify marijuana to allow large-scale research into whether cannabis can help troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The change sought by The American Legion would conflict with the strongly anti-marijuana positions of some administration leaders, most vocally Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Under current rules, doctors with the Department of Veterans Affairs cannot even discuss marijuana as an option with patients. But the alternative treatment is gaining support in the medical community, where some researchers hope pot might prove more effective than traditional pharmaceuticals in controlling PTSD symptoms and reducing the record number of veteran suicides.
"We are not asking for it to be legalized," said Louis Celli, the national director of veterans affairs and rehabilitation for the American Legion, which with 2.4 million members is the largest U.S. veterans' organization. "There is overwhelming evidence that it has been beneficial for some vets. The difference is that it is not founded in federal research because it has been illegal."
The Legion has requested a White House meeting with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and close aide, "as we seek support from the president to clear the way for clinical research in the cutting edge areas of cannabinoid receptor research," according to a recent letter shared with POLITICO.
The request marks a significant turn in the debate over medical marijuana by lending an influential and unexpected voice. The Legion, made up mostly of Vietnam and Korean War-era veterans, is breaking with other leading vets' groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars in lobbying for the removal of the major roadblock in pursuing marijuana treatment.
But it also comes as the new administration, led by Sessions, is sending strong signals of its desire to thwart marijuana decriminalization and legalization efforts. Expectations are growing in Congress that DOJ may even try to roll back medical marijuana laws in 29 states.
Federal regulators classify marijuana as a "Schedule 1" drug, a category that includes heroin and LSD, saying it offers a "high potential for abuse" and has no accepted medicinal properties. That means that with few exceptions it cannot be studied for therapeutic purposes. And the exceedingly small number of research studies, which have taken years to get off the ground due to the bureaucratic hoops, must rely on only a single government-sponsored lab to provide the cannabis.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: American Legion to Trump: Allow marijuana research for vets - POLITICO
Author: Bryan Bender
Contact: Contact Us - POLITICO
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Politics, Policy, Political News - POLITICO
The change sought by The American Legion would conflict with the strongly anti-marijuana positions of some administration leaders, most vocally Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Under current rules, doctors with the Department of Veterans Affairs cannot even discuss marijuana as an option with patients. But the alternative treatment is gaining support in the medical community, where some researchers hope pot might prove more effective than traditional pharmaceuticals in controlling PTSD symptoms and reducing the record number of veteran suicides.
"We are not asking for it to be legalized," said Louis Celli, the national director of veterans affairs and rehabilitation for the American Legion, which with 2.4 million members is the largest U.S. veterans' organization. "There is overwhelming evidence that it has been beneficial for some vets. The difference is that it is not founded in federal research because it has been illegal."
The Legion has requested a White House meeting with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and close aide, "as we seek support from the president to clear the way for clinical research in the cutting edge areas of cannabinoid receptor research," according to a recent letter shared with POLITICO.
The request marks a significant turn in the debate over medical marijuana by lending an influential and unexpected voice. The Legion, made up mostly of Vietnam and Korean War-era veterans, is breaking with other leading vets' groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars in lobbying for the removal of the major roadblock in pursuing marijuana treatment.
But it also comes as the new administration, led by Sessions, is sending strong signals of its desire to thwart marijuana decriminalization and legalization efforts. Expectations are growing in Congress that DOJ may even try to roll back medical marijuana laws in 29 states.
Federal regulators classify marijuana as a "Schedule 1" drug, a category that includes heroin and LSD, saying it offers a "high potential for abuse" and has no accepted medicinal properties. That means that with few exceptions it cannot be studied for therapeutic purposes. And the exceedingly small number of research studies, which have taken years to get off the ground due to the bureaucratic hoops, must rely on only a single government-sponsored lab to provide the cannabis.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: American Legion to Trump: Allow marijuana research for vets - POLITICO
Author: Bryan Bender
Contact: Contact Us - POLITICO
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Politics, Policy, Political News - POLITICO
