According to a recent Ohio State University survey of 1,168 people, six in ten active duty and veteran military personnel as well as 85 per cent of their family members support legalizing recreational marijuana.
A minority of veterans — 4 out of 10 — favors legalizing psychedelics. This is compared to the majority of family members, and non-military responders, who are 59 percent and 61% respectively.
The poll revealed even more pronounced differences between veteran and non-veteran opinions on cocaine and heroin. Veterans supported legalizing these drugs at a rate of 37 percent, while the numbers were much lower among family members and non-military respondents.
Researchers at OSU’s Moritz College of Law Drug Enforcement and Policy Center wrote that the results “showed a majority of people, regardless of veteran status, supported legalizing recreational marijuana.” The results showed that the majority of non-military and veteran families supported legalizing recreational psychedelics. (The veteran support level was slightly lower at 40 %).”
They added that “Finally a large majority” of respondents in all veteran categories opposed the legalization and recreational use of heroin and cocaine. Overall, the results show that there are different levels of support based on drug type, whether you’re a veteran or a family member, and if you’re a non-military.
Explore additional findings: a href=”https://t.co/uh04vyud7b”>https://t.co/uh04vyud7b/a> a lref=”https://t.co/7QXVLOtg4B”>pic.twitter.com/7QXVLOtg4B/a> Explore additional findings: https://t.co/uh04vyud7b pic.twitter.com/7QXVLOtg4B
— Drug Enforcement and Policy Center 18 January 2024
The study states that replication of studies and further investigation are needed to better understand this area of research.
An earlier OSU study, published last month, discussed.
The paper showed that 72 percent of veterans support the idea of allowing VA doctors to legally recommend marijuana, and 64 percent supported psychedelics.
These proportions are lower among non-military respondents and military families.
Congressmen are pushing for provisions to be kept in a massive federal spending bill which would permit VA doctors to give medical marijuana recommendations to veterans who live in states that have legalized the drug .
This reform would achieve the exact same policy result as a stand-alone bill, which was re-filed in March on the House side by the co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Brian Mast.
The Veterans Equal Access Act was presented several times over the past few years, with bipartisan support. has moved through committees and been approved on the floor a number times but has not yet been enacted. Blumenauer is retiring after this Congress and has prioritized the modest reform even though he’s been pushing for broader legalization.
In November of this year, Congress held the first ever hearing on psychedelic therapy for veterans .
In August, congressional members of both parties expressed “deep concern” about a recently revised VA marijuana directive which continues to prevent its doctors from making recommendations for medical cannabis to veterans who live in states where the drug is legal.
The decision to continue the “harmful” policy on cannabis recommendations was deemed “alarming”, especially in light of the latest VA clinical guidance for PTSD which strongly discourages the use of medical cannabis as a form treatment.
They said that many veterans have already reported using cannabis as a medical substitute to prescription drugs.
VA has previously updated its cannabis guidelines, adding language to its 2017 version which encourages VA doctors, for example, to discuss veterans’ marijuana usage .
In April, Senate Republicans blocked a separate procedural vote that would have advanced a bill on the floor that promoted VA research into the therapeutic benefits of marijuana for veterans suffering from conditions like post-traumatic disorder (PTSD).
The House Rules Committee of the GOP-controlled House has repeatedly blocked similar proposals by bipartisan members during this session.
It did, however, advance a Republican amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require Department of Defense funding of trials exploring the therapeutic benefits of certain psychedelics for active duty service members . After bicameral discussions, the reform ended up being included in the final agreement that President Joe Biden had signed late last year.
Stanford Study: Military Veterans With PTSD and Depression Who Received Ibogaine Treatment Experienced ‘Dramatic Improvements’ And a ‘Life-Changing Change’
The post A Majority of U.S. Military service members, veterans and their families support marijuana legalization, a poll finds appeared initially on Marijuana Moment.
