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 - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom