Veterans CARE Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3584 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct and support research on the efficacy and safety of medicinal cannabis, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 22, 2023 Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct and support research on the efficacy and safety of medicinal cannabis, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Cannabis 4 Analysis, Research, and Effectiveness Act’’ or the ‘‘Vet- 5 erans CARE Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3584.IH H3584 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3584 IH SEC. 2. CONDUCT OF RESEARCH INTO EFFECTS OF CAN- 1 NABIS ON HEALTH OUTCOMES OF CERTAIN 2 VETERANS. 3 (a) RESEARCH.—In carrying out the responsibilities 4 of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 7303 5 of title 38, United States Code, the Secretary shall con- 6 duct and support research relating to the efficacy and 7 safety of forms of cannabis described in subsection (c) on 8 the health outcomes of covered veterans diagnosed with 9 chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other 10 conditions the Secretary determines appropriate. The Sec- 11 retary shall ensure that such research is conducted in ac- 12 cordance with applicable regulations relating to the over- 13 sight of research, including such regulations prescribed by 14 the Office of Research and Development of the Depart- 15 ment of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and 16 Human Services (including through the National Institute 17 on Drug Abuse), the Food and Drug Administration, the 18 Drug Enforcement Administration, and the National In- 19 stitutes of Health. 20 (b) DATA PRESERVATION.—Research conducted pur- 21 suant to subsection (a) shall include a mechanism to en- 22 sure the preservation of all data, including all data sets, 23 collected or used for purposes of the research required by 24 subsection (a) in a manner that will facilitate further re- 25 search. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3584.IH H3584 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3584 IH (c) FORMS OF CANNABIS TO BE RESEARCHED.—The 1 forms of cannabis described in this subsection are— 2 (1) varying forms of cannabis, including— 3 (A) full plants and extracts; 4 (B) at least three different strains of can- 5 nabis with significant variants in phenotypic 6 traits and various ratios of 7 tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol in chem- 8 ical composition; and 9 (C) other chemical analogs of 10 tetrahydrocannabinol; and 11 (2) varying methods of cannabis delivery, in- 12 cluding topical application, combustible and non- 13 combustible inhalation, and ingestion. 14 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—In conducting and sup- 15 porting research under subsection (a), the Secretary 16 shall— 17 (1) before conducting and supporting such re- 18 search, develop a plan to implement this section and 19 submit such plan to the Committees on Veterans’ 20 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen- 21 ate; and 22 (2) issue any requests for proposals the Sec- 23 retary determines appropriate for such implementa- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3584.IH H3584 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3584 IH (e) REPORTS.—During the five-year period beginning 1 on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 2 shall submit periodically, but not less frequently than an- 3 nually, to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 4 House of Representatives and the Senate reports on the 5 implementation of this section. 6 (f) COVERED VETERAN DEFINED.—In this section, 7 the term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a veteran who is en- 8 rolled in the patient enrollment system of the Department 9 of Veterans Affairs under section 1705 of title 38, United 10 States Code. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3584.IH H3584 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB