VSOs Ask 2021 Congress To Fast Track Hallucinogenics

VSOs Ask 2021 Congress To Fast Track Hallucinogenics

Research and Results Power Their Requests

Over the course of two days, March 3-4, both the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees convened a joint session over whether veterans should utilize psychedelics in their mental health treatment. Consisting of written testimony backing a policy change to expand access to or increase research on medical cannabis, multiple veteran service organizations, or VSOs, urged both committees to move faster on loosening restrictions. Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers. 22 and more a day. Enabling veterans to utilize psychedelics in their mental health treatment is a concept whose time has come.

With Congress recently killing a late 2020 bill to remove cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug, both houses are moving too slow for VSOs when it comes to psychedelics. Psychedelics, also known as psychedelic drugs, hallucinogens, or hallucinogenic drugs are chemical substances that induce hallucinations and other sensory disturbances.

soldier rests

At Thursday’s hearing, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) said she believes marijuana’s Schedule I status needs to be changed, and she asked the veterans group representatives to share their views on the issue.

Miller-Meeks won her seat by the slim margin of 6 votes.

The written testimony was from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Disabled American Veteran (DAV), Minority Veterans of America (MVA), Wounded Warriros and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-CA), remarked on how Rep. Miller-Meeks speaking out in favor of this idea was a big deal As a Republican and a doctor, her position will hopefully be a stepping stone towards a bipartisan agreement on this issue.

“For years, IAVA members have sounded off in support of researching and legalizing medical cannabis use for treating the wounds of war,” it said, citing member surveys on the issue. “Veterans consistently and passionately have communicated that cannabis offers effective help in tackling some of the most pressing injuries we face when returning from war.”

“Across party lines, medicinal cannabis has been rapidly increasing in support,” it continued. “Yet our national policies are outdated, research is lacking, and stigma persists.”

Disabled American Veteran (DAV) added “VA research into the efficacy of cannabis for treatment of service-connected veterans.”

After Takano’s panel voted last year to approved the research expansion bill and another piece of legislation to allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where it’s legal, the proposals died without a vote on the House floor.

In January, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) filed a new bill to codify that VA doctors can discuss the risks and therapeutic potential of cannabis with their patients and to shield veterans from losing their government benefits over marijuana use. It has not yet been scheduled for any hearings or votes.

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Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.

Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.

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VSOs, Pelosi, Takano Demand VA Secretary Wilkie’s Resignation

VSOs, Pelosi, Takano Demand VA Secretary Wilkie’s Resignation

All the Major Veterans Groups, Including Once A Soldier, Demand Better For All Veterans

How dare you treat one of our own that way? That’s the message, and with Representative Mark Takano (D. California) leading the charge, all of the Big Six veterans organizatins; The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, AMVETS and Vietnam Veterans of America, want him gone. Takano is the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The entire report, published by the Office of the Inspector General, can be found here.

“From his own actions, it’s clear that instead of handling the sexual assualt with dignity and honor, VA Secretary Wilike initiated a smear campaign against the female veteran,” said David Barbush, CEO of Once A Soldier. “Of course, we are thinking of the Veteran’s family involved in all of this.”

The veteran who made the complaint was, and continues to serve as, a staff member on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC). She works on issues affecting women veterans for the committee, including efforts to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment and assaults in VA medical centers.

Disgraced Trump Appointee VA Secretary Robert Wilkie

“When the most senior leadership of VA are derelict in their duty, refuse to take immediate action to correct glaring deficiencies, and are themselves complicit in attempts to discredit and cast doubt on the facts, they betray the public trust and as a result disqualify themselves from all future public service,” Rep. Mark Takano. Wilkie’s lack of character and ethics, a trademark of all Trump VA Secretaries, was recognized by other politicians in addition to Takano.

“The accountability, professionalism and respect that our veterans have earned, and quite frankly deserve, is completely lost in this current VA leadership team,” said B.J. Lawrence, executive director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “Secretary Wilkie must resign now.”

“It is unfair to expect accountability from the nearly 400,000 VA employees and not demand the same from its top executive,” wrote American Legion National Commander James W. “Bill” Oxford. “Wilkie failed to meet the standard that the veteran who came forward with the complaint deserved. By the promises set forth by his own department, the American Legion believes Secretary Wilkie should resign.”

Along with Wilkie, Takano called for the resignation of acting Deputy Secretary Pamela Powers, acting Chief of Staff Brooks Tucker, Principal Deputy General Counsel William Hudson Jr., Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs James Hutton, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Curt Cashour. All of them were named in the report.

The OIG’s investigation was hindered by the refusal of several senior VA officials to cooperate with requests for follow-up interviews to clarify and resolve conflicts that arose when additional information was gathered after their initial interviews. The individuals refusing to cooperate included Secretary Wilkie, Chief of Staff Performing the Delegable Duties of the Deputy Secretary Pamela Powers, Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs James Hutton, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Curtis Cashour.

Sources for this post include the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Military Times.

 

I WANT TO HELP
I NEED HELP

ABOUT ONCE A SOLDIER

Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.

Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.

We are the only nonprofit standing with the families after a veteran suicide. Stand with us.

Our Mission: Become the preferred channel for donors, advocates and volunteers who care about veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.