American Legion leans on Trump administration to loosen marijuana laws

The American Legion is the nation's largest veterans' organization and after meeting with Congress about their concerns over medical marijuana's availability for veterans, they have now chosen to seek out a meeting with President Trump. PTSD is a large concern for The American Legion, and while most medical marijuana states currently allow patients with PTSD access to the drug, veterans are singled out as ineligible through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Roughly 6.8% of Americans suffer from PTSD, but a significantly larger portion of veterans, 30% of Vietnam vets, 12% of Gulf War vets, and 14% of Iraq/Afghanistan vets, suffer from PTSD and should be allowed to access treatment that has proven effective. Officials from The American Legion hope that President Trump will reschedule cannabis in the Controlled Substances Act and remove the barrier from federal research, opening the door for a huge amount of veterans to receive treatment they deserve.

The nation’s largest veterans’ group has requested a meeting at the White House to discuss rescheduling marijuana’s status as a federally controlled substance so medical researchers may legally study its potential to help vets suffering from conditions including traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

America Legion is looking for face time with the Trump administration “as we seek support from the president to clear the way for clinical research in the cutting edge areas of cannabinoid receptor research,” the organization wrote in a letter sent to the White House last month and recently shared with the media.

Rescheduling cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act would remove restrictions limiting federally-funded researchers from studying its possible benefits and potentially reverse the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ existing anti-pot stance, according to the American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans’ group at about 2.4 million members.