Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I deeply appreciate the opportunity to join my friends Representatives Mast, Lee, and Joyce in supporting this amendment. Mr. Mast talked about the necessity of providing our veterans with the best possible treatment. I have heard from veterans across the country how medical cannabis fills a critical need. There is less long- term harm and more opportunities to be able to meet, as he said, the wounds of war, seen and unseen. This is ironic. The rest of the Federal Government is moving toward the recognition of the long overdue need to reschedule cannabis. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice are soon going to reschedule cannabis to schedule III, recognizing that it has medicinal value and recognizing the opportunities for more research activities. At the same time, the Department of Veterans Affairs is stuck in the past. As my friend mentioned, this poses problems for veterans who cannot seek help from their own physicians to get guidance and counseling for things where medical cannabis would make a difference for them. The rest of America has recognized the value of medical cannabis. Thirty-eight States have approved it. As I said, where the rest of the Federal Government is moving toward rescheduling, it is unfortunate that the Department of Veterans Affairs is trapped in time, not giving veterans the full benefit of medical cannabis.…”