Veterans Equal Access Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Veterans Equal Access Act overrides contrary law for a narrow VA health-care purpose. The VA Secretary must authorize VA physicians and other VA health care providers to give recommendations and opinions to veterans who live in States, territories, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or federally recognized Tribes with marijuana programs, and to complete forms reflecting those recommendations and opinions. The bill does not legalize marijuana federally or require VA to supply cannabis. It removes a federal barrier that prevents veterans from using their VA clinician to access state medical marijuana systems.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans in State marijuana programs benefit because their VA clinicians can provide the recommendation or form needed for program participation. Veterans with chronic pain or other qualifying conditions benefit from continuity between VA care and State medical cannabis access. State marijuana programs benefit because VA clinicians can provide medical documentation for veteran applicants. Medical cannabis dispensaries benefit indirectly if more veterans can obtain program eligibility documentation.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Department of Veterans Affairs health care providers must decide whether and how to provide recommendations or opinions. VA medical centers must update clinical guidance and form-handling practices for State marijuana programs. Federal cannabis opponents bear the policy burden of VA clinicians supporting access to State marijuana systems. VA legal offices must manage the tension between State medical marijuana programs and federal controlled-substances law.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes VA physicians to provide medical marijuana recommendations and opinions to veterans.
- Authorizes other VA health care providers to complete State program forms for veterans.
- Extends the covered State definition to territories, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and federally recognized Tribes.
- Limits the bill to recommendations and forms rather than VA provision of cannabis.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Authorizes Department of Veterans Affairs clinicians to give veterans recommendations, opinions, and forms for participation in State marijuana programs.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Health Care, Cannabis
Primary Purpose
Authorizes Department of Veterans Affairs clinicians to give veterans recommendations, opinions, and forms for participation in State marijuana programs.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Veterans in marijuana programs
- Veterans with chronic pain
- State marijuana programs
- Medical cannabis dispensaries
Identified Costs
- VA health care providers
- VA medical centers
- Federal cannabis opponents
- VA legal offices
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Mr. Mast introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology