VA Reiterates That Federal Doctors Can’t Recommend Marijuana Post-Legalization In Ohio—As Long As It’s Schedule I

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has issued a reminder that, while Ohio’s adult-use marijuana market launched this week, government doctors are still prohibited from recommending medical cannabis to veterans—at least as long as it remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law.

VA’s Cincinnati health center published the advisory on Wednesday, acknowledging that “marijuana is now legal in Ohio and dispensaries began opening over the past few days.” However, cannabis is still a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which “makes it illegal in the eyes of the federal government.”

“The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is required to follow all federal laws including those regarding marijuana,” it says. “As long as the Food and Drug Administration classifies marijuana as Schedule I VA health care providers may not recommend it or assist Veterans to obtain it.”

While VA isn’t explicitly suggesting that the policy on VA doctor medical cannabis recommendations would change if marijuana is moved to Schedule III, as the Justice Department has proposed, the statement’s focus on a ban related to drugs with a Schedule I designation is notable.

The reminder from a federal agency following state-level legalization is reminiscent of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issuing a reminder last year that Minnesotans who use cannabis remain federally banned from purchasing and possessing guns, despite their state enacting legalization.

The new VA notice, meanwhile, comes about a month after the Senate Appropriations Committee urged the department to explore medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids for veterans, and it also asked the agency to consider allowing its doctors to formally recommend cannabis to their patients in light of the Biden administration’s rescheduling push.

The same panel also approved a separate spending bill last month with an amendment allowing VA doctors to discuss and recommend medical marijuana to patients living in legal states. The committee similarly passed a veterans and cannabis amendment last session and in prior years.

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On the House side in June, the chamber approved a similar bipartisan amendment to their version of the MilConVA bill that would authorize VA doctors to issue medical marijuana recommendations to veterans.

The measure would achieve the same policy outcome as a standalone bill that was refiled on the House side from Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.

The Veterans Equal Access Act has been introduced several times in recent years with bipartisan support—and moved through committee and floor approval a number of times—but has yet to be enacted into law.

Last year, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved another bill to direct VA to carry out studies into the therapeutic potential of marijuana for military veterans with certain conditions—marking the first time that standalone cannabis legislation ever advanced through a panel in the chamber. But Senate Republicans blocked a procedural motion to move it to the floor.

A coalition of more than 20 veterans service organizations (VSOs) sent a letter to congressional leaders in 2022 to urge the passage of a marijuana and veterans research bill before the end of the last Congress. But that did not pan out.

Bipartisan House and Senate lawmakers have also filed bills to legalize medical cannabis for military veterans.

The legislation would temporarily allow veterans to legally possess and use marijuana under federal law, as recommended by doctors in accordance with state law. Physicians with VA would also be allowed for the first time to issue such recommendations.

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