Veteran Culture | Cannabis is the solution, talk to your VA provider - Juan Alicea

Medical cannabis is legal when used to treat the following conditions: cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, and chronic non-malignant pain, among other ailments.

Unfortunately, although many of the state's veterans suffer from these disorders, they cannot obtain a prescription from Veterans Administration (VA) doctors for medical cannabis.

On December 8, 2017, the VHA published Directive 1315, “Access to VHA Clinical Programs for Veterans Participating in State-Approved Medical Cannabis Programs,” which defines what VA physicians and pharmacists can treat veterans in the program/medical cannabis information.

According to the directive, veterans are encouraged to discuss marijuana use with their VA providers because that information will be used as part of comprehensive care planning and will allow physicians to adjust patients' treatment plans as needed.

VA physicians can also analyze how the use of state-approved medical cannabis may interact with other medications or affect overall care, such as pain management, PTSD, or substance use disorder treatment.

The information will be recorded in the patient's VA medical record, which is protected by patient privacy and confidentiality laws and regulations.

Perhaps one of the most important things to keep in mind is that veterans' participation in state medical cannabis programs does NOT affect a person's eligibility for VA care and services, and that veterans will not be denied services.

Juan Alicea

Veteran

@aliceajuanarmando