An amendment that would have allowed doctors to discuss medical marijuana with veterans in states where cannabis is legal failed in the House.
The measure, which had bipartisan support, failed by a close 213-210 vote Thursday, with more support from Democrats than Republicans,
The Huffington Post reported.
Lawmakers wanted to add the amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill. If passed, it would have prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from banning VA doctors from discussing medical marijuana with veterans as a treatment option.
Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Sam Farr of California, Dina Titus of Nevada, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Barbara Lee of California, and Ruben Gallego of Arizona along with Republican Reps. Joe Heck of Nevada, Dana Rohrabacher of California, and Tom Reed of New York all offered the measure.
Blumenauer is the lead author of the amendment. He submitted it last year as an amendment to the VA appropriations bill, and it failed by a vote of 195-222.
"As Republicans, we supposedly believe in the doctor-patient relationship. But apparently some of my colleagues believe that relationship is not relevant when it comes to VA doctors and their patients," Rohrabacher said on the House floor,
The Hill reported.
Some researchers have suggested that marijuana may help with treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by helping to tame the part of the brain that is "critical for fear and anxiety modulation,"
NPR reported.
"While it’s disappointing that the House just voted to continue a senseless rule that prevents doctors from treating military veterans with a medicine proven to work for a number of serious conditions, the fact that we came so close is a good sign of things to come," said Tom Angell of the Marijuana Majority.
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