What the Veterans Equal Access Act Would Change for Veterans Using Medical Cannabis
Federal policy prevents Department of Veterans Affairs clinicians from recommending medical cannabis or completing the paperwork required for veterans to participate in state-licensed marijuana programs. The Veterans Equal Access Act, reintroduced in the House on March 30, 2023, sought to change that by allowing VA health care providers to offer recommendations and opinions about state medical-marijuana programs.
Introduced by Representatives Brian Mast, a Florida Republican and Army veteran, and Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat, the bill would not have authorized the VA to prescribe, dispense or pay for cannabis. Instead, it would have allowed VA clinicians to discuss whether participation in a state program might be appropriate and to complete any forms required by state law.
The proposal addressed a gap created by the conflict between state and federal cannabis policies. The VA’s current guidance allows providers to ask about and document a veteran’s marijuana use as part of treatment planning. Veterans are not denied VA benefits or health care because they use cannabis in accordance with state law. However, VA clinicians may not recommend medical marijuana, register veterans for state programs or complete related certification forms. VA pharmacies also cannot fill cannabis prescriptions or reimburse patients for them. The VA’s VHA Directive 1315 sets out those rules.
Mast has used his own experience to explain why he supports the legislation. After sustaining injuries in Afghanistan that resulted in the loss of both legs, he said he awoke at Walter Reed receiving numerous medications, including a Dilaudid infusion, morphine, oxycodone, an epidural, sedatives and antidepressants. His account underscores lawmakers’ interest in expanding treatment discussions beyond opioids and other conventional medications.
That argument does not establish that cannabis is safer or more effective for every veteran. Evidence for cannabis-based treatments varies by condition, and the VA has previously noted that more research is needed on potential benefits and risks, including for chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. The Veterans Equal Access Act concerns access to medical advice and state programs; it does not itself approve cannabis as a treatment.
Blumenauer and other supporters have also connected the legislation to the broader challenges veterans face with pain, mental health and suicide. But available suicide statistics do not show that the VA’s cannabis policy caused veteran suicides or that opioids alone account for them. The VA’s latest annual report recorded 6,398 veteran suicides in 2023—an average of 17.5 per day—and identifies multiple associated risk factors. Those figures should not be presented as proof of a direct causal link between cannabis access, opioid prescribing and suicide.
Veterans’ organizations, cannabis-policy groups and industry representatives have backed the proposal. Supporters say some veterans may avoid discussing cannabis with VA clinicians because providers cannot help them navigate state registration systems, even though they can document cannabis use and consider potential interactions with other treatments.
The measure has been introduced in several sessions without becoming law. The 2023 version, H.R. 2431, was referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. A subsequent version, H.R. 1384, was introduced on February 14, 2025, and likewise referred to the committee. Until Congress changes the law, veterans may discuss cannabis use with VA providers, but they must obtain any state medical-marijuana recommendation or certification outside the VA system.
