Pubdate: Wed, 26 Nov 2014
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2014 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Emily Wax- Thibodeaux
Page: A15

VA CHALLENGED ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Bipartisan Bill Would Free Agency's Staff From Restrictions

VA cannot prescribe pot even to veterans in states where medical 
marijuana is legal.

Arguing that medical marijuana may help wounded warriors with anxiety 
and stress disorders "survive and thrive," Rep. Earl Blumenauer 
(D-Ore.) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) have introduced 
legislation that would allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors 
to recommend the drug for some patients.

The Veterans Equal Access Act would challenge a VA policy that 
forbids doctors to consult about medical pot use. The bill was filed 
after The Washington Post reported on the issue this month.

"We should be allowing these wounded warriors access to the medicine 
that will help them survive and thrive, including medical marijuana, 
not treating them like criminals and forcing them into the shadows," 
Blumenauer said in a statement.

The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, the 
same as heroin and LSD, and it says pot has no accepted medical use 
and a high potential for abuse. That means that VA, which runs the 
largest network of hospitals and health clinics in the country, 
cannot prescribe pot as a treatment, even for veterans who live in a 
state where medical marijuana is legal.

VA says its physicians and chronic-pain specialists "are prohibited 
from recommending and prescribing medical marijuana for 
[post-traumatic stress disorder] or other pain-related issues."

Medical staff members are also prohibited from completing paperwork 
required to enroll patients in state marijuana programs because they 
are "federal employees who must comply with federal law," said Gina 
Jackson, a VA spokeswoman.

More than 20 percent of the 2.8 million American veterans who served 
in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD and depression, according to 
Blumenauer's statement. In addition, a recent study found that of the 
nearly 1 million veterans who receive opioids to treat pain, more 
than half continue to consume them beyond 90 days, the statement said.

Another study found that the death rate from opiate overdoses among 
VA patients is nearly double the national average. "In states where 
patients can legally access medical marijuana for painful conditions, 
often as a lessaddictive alternative, the hands of VA physicians 
should not be tied," the statement said.

Researchers in the United States and several other countries have 
found evidence that cannabis can help treat PTSD and pain, although 
other studies - such as those looking into the best strains and 
proper dosages - remain in the early stages.

Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans for Medical Cannabis 
Access, said in a statement that the group is "very proud to stand by 
Congressman Blumenauer and support the Veterans Equal Access Act."

"The Veterans Health Administration has made it very clear that, as 
federal employees, they lack the free speech necessary to write the 
recommendations for Veterans to comply with state programs," Krawitz 
said. "This legislation is needed to correct that legal situation and 
repair this VA doctor patient relationship."

The status quo has numerous harmful effects, Blumenauer said. "It 
forces veterans into the black market to self-medicate," he said. "It 
prevents doctors from giving their best and honest advice and 
recommendations. And it pushes both doctors and their patients toward 
drugs that are potentially more harmful and more addictive. It's 
insane, and it has to stop."

Although marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of the federal 
government, 23 states permit its medical use, including Oregon and California.

Excerpted from washingtonpost.com/blogs/ federal-eye
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom