I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 966
To prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from denying a veteran benefits
administered by the Secretary by reason of the veteran participating
in a State-approved marijuana program, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY4, 2025
Mr. S
TEUBEintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from denying
a veteran benefits administered by the Secretary by rea-
son of the veteran participating in a State-approved
marijuana program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Cannabis Use 4
for Safe Healing Act’’. 5
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SEC. 2. VETERAN PARTICIPATION IN STATE-APPROVED 1
MARIJUANA PROGRAMS. 2
(a) P
ROVISION OFBENEFITS.—Notwithstanding any 3
other provision of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 4
may not deny a veteran any benefit under the laws admin-5
istered by the Secretary by reason of the veteran partici-6
pating in a State-approved marijuana program. 7
(b) C
ONSULTATION.—With respect to a veteran who 8
is enrolled in the system of patient enrollment under sec-9
tion 1705 of title 38, United States Code, and participates 10
in a State-approved marijuana program, the Secretary 11
shall ensure that physicians and other health care pro-12
viders of the Veterans Health Administration— 13
(1) discuss marijuana use with the veteran and 14
adjust medical treatment plans accordingly; and 15
(2) record such use in the medical records of 16
the veteran. 17
(c) P
ROVISION OFINFORMATION.—Notwithstanding 18
any other provision of law, the Secretary shall authorize 19
physicians and other health care providers of the Veterans 20
Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Af-21
fairs to provide recommendations and opinions to veterans 22
who are residents of States with State-approved marijuana 23
programs regarding the participation of veterans in such 24
programs. 25
(d) D
EFINITIONS.—In this section: 26
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(1) The term ‘‘marijuana’’ has the meaning 1
given the term ‘‘marihuana’’ in section 102 of the 2
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 3
(2) The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given 4
that term in section 101 of title 38, United States 5
Code. 6
Æ
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