A U.S. Representative from Florida has filed the first marijuana bill of the 119th Congress, seeking to protect military veterans from losing government benefits for using medical cannabis in compliance with state law.

The measure would also codify that U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors are allowed to discuss the potential risks and benefits of marijuana with their patients.

VA doctors are currently permitted to discuss cannabis with patients and document their usage in medical records, and those veteran patients are already shielded by agency policy from losing their benefits for marijuana use—but the bill would enshrine these policies into federal statute so they could not be administratively changed in the future.

Read the full article HERE.