House Budget Bill Amendment Could End Veterans Affairs Medical Cannabis Ban
The “Big, Beautiful Bill” signed recently into law by President Donald Trump, includes an amendment that may end the medical cannabis ban in the VA which has prevented doctors from recommending the plant to their patients.
Image | adobe.stock/Alona
President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” includes an amendment that if approved could entitle doctors working in the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system to be able to recommend medical cannabis to their patients if the medicinal plant is legal in those states (1,2).
Norml (3), has reported that “Under federal law, VA-affiliated doctors are forbidden from authorizing veterans to use medical cannabis, even if they live in jurisdictions where the substance is legal.”
According to Ganjapreneur (1), there is a psychedelics amendment also in the budget bill that could mean the VA being able to use psychedelic therapies for treatment options, “ordering the agency to recommend changes to its infrastructure to include ‘approved’ psychedelic therapies in the delivery of future medical services,” (1). This amendment was proposed by Representative Jack Bergman who served as a Marine Corps lieutenant general between 1969 to 2009 (1). Representative Bergman said to Stars and Stripes (1,2) that he is in support of “innovative therapies that show promise for treating the invisible wounds of war.” Representative Bergman added (2), “This line of therapeutics has tremendous advantage, if given in a clinical setting. And we are working very hard to make sure that that happens within 12 months,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“We are launching clinical trials at [the Food and Drug Administration], and there are 11 clinical trials at VA,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a June hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subpanel on health (2). “We need to make sure the science on this is solid, particularly for our retired military service members. The preliminary results are very encouraging. There are people who badly need therapy, and nothing else works for them.”
Stars and Stripes (1,2) reported that the amendment stems from the Veterans Equal Access Act, introduced by Representative Brian Mast, who served as an Army bomb disposal expert for more than 12 years and is now medically retired.
“This is common-sense legislation,” Mast expressed (2). “Something like 35 states have approved medical marijuana. If this can help veterans recovering from injuries stay off prescription narcotics, it will be a godsend.”
The House budget bill contains over 30 amendments and passed in June 2025 (2). The next step for the legislation is for the Senate Appropriations Committee to review.
A May 2025 survey conducted by non-profit group, Mission Roll Call, called the “2025 VA Cuts & Services Survey” found that military veterans and their family members believe that the “Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should provide medical cannabis treatment to eligible patients,” (4).
The survey consisted of approximately 2,000 veterans and their family members (4). 95% of survey respondents were a veteran or family member of a veteran and included responses from all 50 states in the US (4). According to survey results, 57% of respondents felt that they supported the VA to provide medical cannabis as a treatment option. 27% of respondents supported psychedelics, for example MDMA and psilocybin, as treatments the VA should support and 17% believed the VA should support Ketamine as another form of treatment for eligible patients (4).
With these amendments, hopefully VA doctors will be less restricted on what they can prescribe to their patients to help them improve their quality of life.
References
- Abbott, G. House-approved Veterans Affairs Budget bill ends prohibition on medical cannabis recommendations https://ganjapreneur.com/house-approved-veterans-affairs-budget-bill-ends-prohibition-on-medical-cannabis-recommendations/ (accessed Jul 14, 2025).
- Hersey, L. F. House-approved VA budget bill ends restrictions on doctors from discussing medical marijuana with veterans https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2025-07-06/veterans-marijuana-legislation-18328407.html (accessed Jul 14, 2025).
- Norml. Most veterans say Feds should provide medical cannabis services https://norml.org/news/2025/05/22/survey-most-veterans-say-feds-should-provide-medical-cannabis-services/ (accessed Jul 14, 2025).
- Colli, M. Recent survey finds that most veterans believe that the Department of Veterans Affairs should offer medical cannabis treatment https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/recent-survey-finds-that-most-veterans-believe-that-the-department-of-veterans-affairs-should-offer-medical-cannabis-treatment (accessed Jul 14, 2025).
Best of the Week: July 4 – July 10, 2025
July 11th 2025Here, we bring you our top five recent articles covering revoking medical cannabis cards in Florida, testing and sampling initiative in Missouri, our mid-year regulations roundup, depenalization ordinance stopped in Texas, and accuracy in THC labeling in flower versus concentrates.
