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A congressional committee is set to vote on two bills focused on marijuana and military veterans on Thursday. The action is the first markup of cannabis-related legislation on Capitol Hill this year.

The bills are geared toward expanding access to medical cannabis for the veteran population and increasing research into the plant’s therapeutic benefits for conditions such as chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is the sponsor of the Veterans Equal Access Act, which would allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where it’s legal.

The other bipartisan bill, the VA Medical Cannabis Research Act, is led by Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA). It would require VA to conduct clinical trials on the medical potential of cannabis in the treatment of conditions that commonly afflict veterans.

The Veterans’ Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), will mark up the legislation. The announcement that the bills were scheduled for votes came on Tuesday.

Watch the hearing below: 

After the bills were discussed by the panel last year, they were scheduled for votes that were later cancelled.

Earlier this year, Correa and fellow lead research bill cosponsor Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) circulated a letter asking colleagues to support the legislation as cosponsors. As of Thursday, 105 members have signed on—about one-fourth of the full House.

For Blumenauer’s part, he attempted to insert language to allow VA doctors to recommend cannabis into annual spending legislation, but he withdrew it, citing opposition from VA.

Nevertheless, there’s renewed hope that the committee will advance the standalone legislation to a full floor vote. After the panel cancelled its vote last year, members participated in a closed-door roundtable to discuss the need for medical marijuana research for veterans.

There’s been growing interest among veterans, advocates and lawmakers to pass legislation to increase access to cannabis for veterans, or at least explore its medical potential.

A Republican senator and representatives of a veterans advocacy group discussed the issue during a joint hearing last month.

Meanwhile, VA said it is planning to post a notice shortly to solicit scientific information about the potential of cannabis and its components to treat medical conditions such as chronic pain and PTSD.

FDA Chief Faces CBD Questions At Congressional Hearing

Image element courtesy of Tim Evanson.

The post Watch Live: First Congressional Marijuana Votes Of 2020 appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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Kyle Jaeger, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife