At a House Committee meeting on Tuesday, bipartisan legislators urged the adoption of marijuana amendments and psychedelics as part a larger defense bill. However, the fate of the proposals remains uncertain due to complications over other measures being promoted by conservative members.
The House Rules Committee cleared 290 largely uncontroversial Amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act for Floor Votes as the House Freedom Caucus members negotiate with the leadership who demand adoption of contentious Measures on Issues like Abortion, gender affirming care for Service Members and pulling back the support for Ukraine.
The Rules Committee must now revisit the measure to address the hundreds of amendments that remain, including over a dozen proposals for drug policy reform.
Matt Gaetz, R-FL, advocated his own amendment at the Tuesday meeting to stop drug testing of military personnel for cannabis.
7. I don’t believe that we should test for cannabis in people who are interested in joining the military. We should be proud of them for their willingness to serve the country. This policy will be corrected by my amendment. pic.twitter.com/BDJW3XV5LN
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) July 11, 2023
He said: “We’ve seen the cannabis policy at federal level go awry over a long period of time. We should think about cannabis in terms alcohol.” “We’re having a recruitment crisis. In most states of this country, cannabis is used under state law.
He said that his amendment wouldn’t prevent the Department of Defense to continue policies that prohibit the use of marijuana while serving in the active military. “But for people who want to join the military it seems to be an unnecessary gate we continue to maintain.”
The House Armed Services Committee revised the NDAA before Tuesday’s meeting to include two provisions on medical cannabis and psychoactives.
The psychedelics bill from Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-TX, is already a part of the bill after committee action. Under this measure, the Defense Secretary would be required by law to conduct a clinical trial on the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics in active duty servicemen with PTSD, traumatic head injury, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
The clinical studies must involve psilocybin or MDMA. Ibogaine, DMT, and ibogaine would also be acceptable. Within one year after the legislation’s enactment, the secretary must provide lawmakers with a detailed report on the results of the trials. Several of the revisions proposed to the NDAA by the Rules Committee aim to amend this language.
At the Rules Committee’s hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, , who is sponsoring separate legislation to achieve similar results and is backing an NDAA Amendment to expand Luttrell’s proposal said: “There are a lot evidences that it’s effective.” There have been studies done, but more needs to be done. It is important to fully understand the study so it can be properly applied to those servicemen who are suffering. The results are incredible.”
He said, “This is an amazing stuff we need to study and work on.”
Crenshaw stated that although supporters were able secure the core psychedelics text in the NDAA Armed Services Committee Stop, it was necessary for them to file a supplementary amendement because the panel’s employees removed key language without authorization, which significantly watered down what had already been agreed.
The congressman stated that it should be revised so that it specifies that the required research will involve a “clinical study” instead of the more vague term “study”. It also needs to include provisions that provide funding for the trial.
They stripped it all out before we got to it. “They managed to incorporate that into the markup,” said he. “Now we must be here to press for an amendment to make this bill whole again.”
The cannabis amendment, which has been attached to this bill in committee, calls for the Defense Department to launch a medical cannabis pilot program. This program would study the health effects of marijuana consumption by veterans and servicemen who are VA recipients. The VA participant must have been diagnosed with PTSD, depression, anxiety or pain management to be eligible for this program.
During Tuesday’s hearings, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D – NJ) also discussed her amendment that would eliminate the disparity in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine crimes.
She said, “As a former outreach and reentry Coordinator at the U.S. Attorney’s Office of New Jersey, I witnessed first-hand how disparities in crack and cocaine sentencing guides unfairly targeted communities and people of color.” “Our nation was founded on the principles that justice and equality for all are essential to a free society. This legislation will help us eliminate one of the most racially-biased disparities in sentencing guidelines.
The Rules Committee did not, however, make any key amendments to the drug policy in order to be considered by the floor as part of a first non-controversial set of proposals. The members will have to review those proposals at a future meeting.
These are the amendments to the Marijuana and Psychedelics Act currently on the table.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D – CA ): Prevent the denial or security clearances to defense workers solely based on the use of marijuana, if it is legal in the state.
Gaetz Do not require drug tests for marijuana for military recruitment.
Rep. Rep.
Reps. Reps.
Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Earl Blumenauer(D-OR) & Jason Crow (DCO ): Demand that the Defense Secretary develop a plan for providing reenlistment exemptions to servicemen who test positive for THC.
Sherrill and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Dina Titus, Jared Moskowitz, Salud Carbajal and Rick Larsen: Expedite waiver processes for military recruits and applicants that admit prior cannabis use. Allow the lowest-level employees in the defense to grant such waivers. The same sponsors also submitted a second amendment that had a similar goal.
Reps. Reps.
Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-TX and Morgan Luttrell, R-TX ): Expand existing psychedelics research provisions in the bill to create a DOD Grant Program to fund research into the therapeutic utility of these substances for treating post-traumatic anxiety disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
Rep. Rep.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, (D-MI),: The defense department should be required to present its findings regarding the psychedelics tests that would have to be conducted under the bill. This information must go to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Health and Human Services and the relevant congressional committees.
Rep. Ken Buck (R – CO ):) One amendment would express that Congress believes MDMA “should” be recognized as a therapy for PTSD, and it would require the VA head to develop a plan if FDA approved its use. The second amendment expresses the same sentiment as the first, but it does not contain the VA action item.
Rep. Lou Correa, (D-CA ):, expresses the view of Congress, that officials should “investigate all potential therapies including the use medicinal cannabis or psychoedelics to help our vets heal their visible and inscrutable wounds upon returning home.”
Sherrill, and Reps. Kelly Armstrong and Stephanie Bice and Nancy Mace and Tom McClintock and Tom McClintock and Bobby Scott and David Trone and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatick and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatrick and Brian Fitzpatock and Brian Fitz
Rep. Rep.
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R – WI ):) Authorize the use military resources to fight illegal drug trafficking along the U.S. – Mexico border.
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Garcia stated ahead of the meeting on Tuesday that he thought there would be “very broad bipartisan support” for marijuana-related amendments . This included his own, which aims to prevent security clearances being denied for federal employees who confessed prior cannabis use.
The final deal in 2013 did not include two psychedelics provisions from the House version of the NDAA. However, the lawmakers were able to secure a report that instructed the secretary of defence to look at “the feasibility and advisability” of conducting a research on “the use of certain pharmacologic, or potential plant-based, therapies as an alternative to prescription opioids to treat PTSD, TBI or chronic pain.”
To the dismay of marijuana advocates and stakeholders, a number of other marijuana-related items were also excluded. This included an attempt to pass cannabis bank reform through the must-pass defence bill.
Separately the Senate Appropriations Committee released a recent report for a budget bill which calls on VA for medical marijuana access to veterans and explores the therapeutic potential of psychoedelics.
DEA says instead of doing drugs you should spend more time on Instagram and playing video games for a ‘natural high’
Image element provided by Kristie Gianpulos.
The article Bipartisan lawmakers push for marijuana and psychedelics amendments to defense bill, but committee action is delayed first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
