Political Quotes

“I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this rule. I had a real bipartisan amendment that had been in order repeatedly in recent sessions, gaining bipartisan support, to be able to deal with the crisis that our veterans face in terms of addiction, opioids. The VA, sadly, has a horrible record in terms of how they deal with these veterans. They suffer suicide 50 percent higher than the general public. The opioid addiction rate is twice the general population. Mr. Speaker, I have been working for years in the area of medical marijuana. Twenty-nine States have now legalized it. I wish my friends on the Rules Committee had taken the time to listen to the stories of veterans and their families about what difference it made for people suffering from PTSD, chronic pain, and traumatic brain injury. Medical marijuana has helped change their lives, and it is not addictive and doesn't kill them the way the abuse of opioids has. Yet the VA, in its infinite wisdom, doesn't even allow VA doctors to talk to veterans about medical marijuana in the States where it is legal. Our amendment is simple. It would eliminate that prohibition. It wouldn't dispense marijuana on public land. It allowed the VA doctor to work with the patients--the people who know them best. It passed last year with 40 votes on a bipartisan basis. There were 18 bipartisan cosponsors for the amendment, 9 and 9, Republican and Democrat.…”