Robert Celt
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In a local stop on his tour of New York this week, the American Legion's national commander said the non-profit organization is weighing its stance on medical marijuana access for veterans.
In Washington on Thursday, a U.S. Senate committee added an amendment to next year's Veterans Affairs spending bill to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from spending money to enforce a directive that bars VA doctors from recommending medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
The VA policy that prohibits doctors from recommending medical marijuana expired Jan. 31, however the VA doctors must continue to abide by the policy until a new one is passed. That could happen any day now.
The amendment to the 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill passed in a bipartisan 20-10 vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Senate tried to include similar language last year in the VA spending bill, but it was stripped by the House from the final legislation.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, is not on that committee, but she has been vocal about access to medical marijuana.
On Thursday, she issued a statement calling the amendment "an important step" that "helps bring us closer to finally giving our VA doctors the freedom and flexibility they need to provide their patients with the best available treatments."
"All across the country, more and more doctors are seeing significant health benefits from medical marijuana when it is used for certain diseases and injuries. The VA should stop putting antiquated ideology ahead of science and the medical judgment of their doctors," Gillibrand said in the statement.
When asked Thursday, American Legion 2015-16 National Commander Dale Barnett said the American Legion supports looking for alternatives to addictive opioids for pain, and has already supported alternatives such as therapy animals.
"The American Legion is an open-minded organization that is looking into all the facts. We're still looking into it (medical marijuana). We're discussing it, and we certainly have not made any policy statements either for or against the use of medical marijuana, but we have in the area of alternative treatments other than opiates for PTSD and TBI (post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury)," Barnett said.
Policy statements are done through a resolution process, he said. Each individual state in the American Legion can propose a policy statement, but then it has to go through a committee that studies it. Then the statement can come up for passage at a national meeting.
Barnett said that during his testimony before the Joint House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees in February, he mentioned an equestrian program in Saratoga County that helps provide veterans therapy as they work with horses.
He said there has been an "over-reliance on opiates within the VA hospitals, and we want to turn that around and have more positive methods."
"Those are the types of alternative treatments – there's nothing bad about petting a dog or cat or working with a horse," Barnett said.
Barnett said the focus of his recent testimony before lawmakers was "accountability."
"Most of our VA workers sacrifice so much, and they are veteran-centered. For those that need to be held accountable, we want to empower our senior leaders to take action against them," Barnett said.
He said the merit protection system, which has been in place for 85-90 years, is "archaic" and it "needs to be evaluated" since many of the VA's attempts to discipline employees are reversed at the end of the appeals process at the Merit Systems Protection Board because the burden of proof is so high.
He also spoke about some of the programs the American Legion, an all-volunteer dues organization, has for veterans, such as Operation Comfort Warriors.
"Operation Comfort Warriors provides care items and things not funded by the military. We've been doing that since 2005. One hundred percent goes to that cause," he said.
On Thursday afternoon, Barnett was preparing to speak to a crowd of about 300 people at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs.
Saratoga County Commander Dave Lockhart, of Corinth, said he was proud that a third of the attendance was from Saratoga County, and that veterans and families traveled from Plattsburgh south to Sullivan County for the dinner.
Barnett, from Georgia, also spoke at a dinner in Little Falls the night before to about 180 people, and is planning to speak at an American Legion event in New York City on Friday.
On Thursday, he also toured the Watervliet Arsenal.
His New York tour ends Saturday with a visit to his alma mater, the Military Academy at West Point. Barnett was an army infantry officer from 1974 to 1996 and served in both Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: American Legion Considering Medical Marijuana Position
Author: Amanda May Metzger
Contact: The Post Star
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Post Star
In Washington on Thursday, a U.S. Senate committee added an amendment to next year's Veterans Affairs spending bill to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from spending money to enforce a directive that bars VA doctors from recommending medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
The VA policy that prohibits doctors from recommending medical marijuana expired Jan. 31, however the VA doctors must continue to abide by the policy until a new one is passed. That could happen any day now.
The amendment to the 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill passed in a bipartisan 20-10 vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Senate tried to include similar language last year in the VA spending bill, but it was stripped by the House from the final legislation.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, is not on that committee, but she has been vocal about access to medical marijuana.
On Thursday, she issued a statement calling the amendment "an important step" that "helps bring us closer to finally giving our VA doctors the freedom and flexibility they need to provide their patients with the best available treatments."
"All across the country, more and more doctors are seeing significant health benefits from medical marijuana when it is used for certain diseases and injuries. The VA should stop putting antiquated ideology ahead of science and the medical judgment of their doctors," Gillibrand said in the statement.
When asked Thursday, American Legion 2015-16 National Commander Dale Barnett said the American Legion supports looking for alternatives to addictive opioids for pain, and has already supported alternatives such as therapy animals.
"The American Legion is an open-minded organization that is looking into all the facts. We're still looking into it (medical marijuana). We're discussing it, and we certainly have not made any policy statements either for or against the use of medical marijuana, but we have in the area of alternative treatments other than opiates for PTSD and TBI (post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury)," Barnett said.
Policy statements are done through a resolution process, he said. Each individual state in the American Legion can propose a policy statement, but then it has to go through a committee that studies it. Then the statement can come up for passage at a national meeting.
Barnett said that during his testimony before the Joint House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees in February, he mentioned an equestrian program in Saratoga County that helps provide veterans therapy as they work with horses.
He said there has been an "over-reliance on opiates within the VA hospitals, and we want to turn that around and have more positive methods."
"Those are the types of alternative treatments – there's nothing bad about petting a dog or cat or working with a horse," Barnett said.
Barnett said the focus of his recent testimony before lawmakers was "accountability."
"Most of our VA workers sacrifice so much, and they are veteran-centered. For those that need to be held accountable, we want to empower our senior leaders to take action against them," Barnett said.
He said the merit protection system, which has been in place for 85-90 years, is "archaic" and it "needs to be evaluated" since many of the VA's attempts to discipline employees are reversed at the end of the appeals process at the Merit Systems Protection Board because the burden of proof is so high.
He also spoke about some of the programs the American Legion, an all-volunteer dues organization, has for veterans, such as Operation Comfort Warriors.
"Operation Comfort Warriors provides care items and things not funded by the military. We've been doing that since 2005. One hundred percent goes to that cause," he said.
On Thursday afternoon, Barnett was preparing to speak to a crowd of about 300 people at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs.
Saratoga County Commander Dave Lockhart, of Corinth, said he was proud that a third of the attendance was from Saratoga County, and that veterans and families traveled from Plattsburgh south to Sullivan County for the dinner.
Barnett, from Georgia, also spoke at a dinner in Little Falls the night before to about 180 people, and is planning to speak at an American Legion event in New York City on Friday.
On Thursday, he also toured the Watervliet Arsenal.
His New York tour ends Saturday with a visit to his alma mater, the Military Academy at West Point. Barnett was an army infantry officer from 1974 to 1996 and served in both Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: American Legion Considering Medical Marijuana Position
Author: Amanda May Metzger
Contact: The Post Star
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Post Star
