{"id":36097,"date":"2017-12-19T20:59:29","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T20:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/19\/va-refutes-rumors-of-a-new-policy-on-medical-marijuana\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:53:46","slug":"va-refutes-rumors-of-a-new-policy-on-medical-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2017\/12\/19\/va-refutes-rumors-of-a-new-policy-on-medical-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"VA refutes rumors of a new policy on medical marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans Affairs officials are denying a report that they have softened their stance on medical marijuana, insisting that updated guidance on the drug does not amount to a new policy change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, Marijuana Majority founder Tom Angell <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/tomangell\/2017\/12\/19\/v-a-issues-new-medical-marijuana-policy-for-military-veterans\/#7eb0641e5b90\" title=\"\" class=\"\">posted on Forbes.com<\/a> a new five-page guidance issued by the department earlier this month focused on VA physicians \u201cdiscussing the use of marijuana and its impact on health, including veteran-specific treatment plans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The document also encourages VA doctors to \u201cdiscuss marijuana use with any veterans requesting information\u201d due to \u201cits clinical relevance to patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But VA spokesman Curt Cashour said the new guidance is not a new endorsement of medical marijuana by the department or even a change in existing VA policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is updated guidance to encourage veterans to let their VA physicians know if they are using marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes, just as VA physicians would want to know about any other use by veteran patients of federally illegal drugs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The goal is to get a full picture of patient health, including all legal and illegal medications. Calling the updated guidance document a more open approach to marijuana use is \u201ca mischaracterization,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA physicians can also gather statistics and other information from veterans about their use of marijuana or other federally illegal drugs as part of understanding the effects of that drug use on their overall health. VA\u2019s position on marijuana remains unchanged,\u201d Cashour said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2017\/11\/02\/poll-more-than-90-percent-of-vets-support-medical-marijuana-research\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635894974338581809-gettyimages-89185855jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Poll: More than 90 percent of vets support medical marijuana research<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The poll, conducted for the American Legion, gives supporters another lobbying tool to persuade lawmakers to expand research options.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That position has been outlined multiple times in recent months by VA Secretary David Shulkin. VA doctors cannot prescribe, recommend or assist with getting medical marijuana because of federal prohibitions against the drug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shulkin has said he is interested in looking into the possible benefits for cannabis in a range of veterans\u2019 ailments, but pro-marijuana groups and veterans advocates have sharply criticized the department for failing to follow through on those comments with meaningful research changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new VA document reiterates that VA doctors cannot assist veterans in obtaining medical marijuana even in states where it is legal but also notes that \u201cveterans must not be denied Veterans Health Administration services solely because they are participating in state-approved marijuana programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also notes that possession of marijuana on VA property is a federal crime, even in states where it is legal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated guidance reminds VA physicians that they should talk to veterans about marijuana use but not as a path to recommend its use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":67206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,16,26,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3328],"class_list":["post-36097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"Q75AXEBRIVFQLJWOSEFCOQGCCU","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2017\/12\/19\/va-refutes-rumors-of-a-new-policy-on-medical-marijuana\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VA refutes rumors of a new policy on medical marijuana - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Updated guidance reminds VA physicians that they should talk to veterans about marijuana use but not as a path to recommend its use.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VA refutes rumors of a new policy on medical marijuana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Updated guidance reminds VA physicians that they should talk to veterans about marijuana use but not as a path to recommend its use.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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