I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 747 

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 

JANUARY 24, 2019 

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CONDUCT OF RESEARCH INTO EFFECTS OF 

4 CANNABIS ON HEALTH OUTCOMES OF CER5 TAIN VETERANS. 

6 (a) RESEARCH.—In carrying out the responsibilities 

7 of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 7303 

8 of title 38, United States Code, the Secretary shall con9 duct and support research relating to the efficacy and 

10 safety of forms of cannabis described in subsection (c) on 


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1 the health outcomes of covered veterans diagnosed with 

2 chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other 

3 conditions the Secretary determines appropriate. The Sec4 retary shall ensure that such research is conducted in ac5 cordance with applicable regulations relating to the over6 sight of research, including such regulations prescribed by 

7 the Office of Research and Development of the Depart8 ment of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and 

9 Human Services (including through the National Institute 

10 on Drug Abuse), the Food and Drug Administration, the 

11 Drug Enforcement Administration, and the National In12 stitutes of Health. 

13 (b) DATA PRESERVATION.—Research conducted pur14 suant to subsection (a) shall include a mechanism to en15 sure the preservation of all data, including all data sets, 

16 collected or used for purposes of the research required by 

17 subsection (a) in a manner that will facilitate further re18 search. 

19 (c) FORMS OF CANNABIS TO BE RESEARCHED.—The 

20 forms of cannabis described in this subsection are— 

21 (1) varying forms of cannabis, including— 

22 (A) full plants and extracts; 

23 (B) at least three different strains of can24 nabis with significant variants in phenotypic 

25 traits and various ratios of tetrahydrocannabiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H747.IH H747

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1 nol and cannabidiol in chemical composition; 

2 and 

3 (C) other chemical analogs of tetrahydro4 cannabinol; and 

5 (2) varying methods of cannabis delivery, in6 cluding topical application, combustible and non7 combustible inhalation, and ingestion. 

8 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—In conducting and sup9 porting research under subsection (a), the Secretary 

10 shall— 

11 (1) before conducting and supporting such re12 search, develop a plan to implement this section and 

13 submit such plan to the Committees on Veterans’ 

14 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen15 ate; and 

16 (2) issue any requests for proposals the Sec17 retary determines appropriate for such implementa18 tion. 

19 (e) REPORTS.—During the five-year period beginning 

20 on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

21 shall submit periodically, but not less frequently than an22 nually, to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Senate reports on the 

24 implementation of this section. 


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1 (f) COVERED VETERAN DEFINED.—In this section, 

2 the term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a veteran who is en3 rolled in the patient enrollment system of the Department 

4 of Veterans Affairs under section 1705 of title 38, United 

5 States Code. 

Æ 


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