II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 179 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a clinical trial 

of the effects of cannabis on certain health outcomes of adults with 

chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 17, 2019 

Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a clinical trial of the effects of cannabis on certain health 

outcomes of adults with chronic pain and post-traumatic 

stress disorder, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Medicinal Cannabis 

5 Research Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CLINICAL 

2 TRIAL OF THE EFFECTS OF CANNABIS ON 

3 CERTAIN HEALTH OUTCOMES OF ADULTS 

4 WITH CHRONIC PAIN AND POST-TRAUMATIC 

5 STRESS DISORDER. 

6 (a) CLINICAL TRIAL REQUIRED.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

8 Affairs shall carry out a double-blind randomized 

9 controlled clinical trial of the effects of medical10 grade cannabis on the health outcomes of covered 

11 veterans diagnosed with chronic pain and covered 

12 veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress dis13 order. 

14 (2) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—The clinical trial 

15 required by paragraph (1) shall include— 

16 (A) with respect to covered veterans diag17 nosed with chronic pain, an evaluation of the 

18 effects of the use of cannabis on— 

19 (i) neuropathic pain (including pain 

20 intensity and pain-related outcomes); 

21 (ii) the reduction or increase in opioid 

22 use or dosage; 

23 (iii) the reduction or increase in 

24 benzodiazepine use or dosage; 

25 (iv) the reduction or increase in alco26 hol use; 


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1 (v) inflammation; 

2 (vi) sleep quality; 

3 (vii) spasticity; 

4 (viii) agitation; and 

5 (ix) quality of life; and 

6 (B) with respect to covered veterans diag7 nosed with post-traumatic stress disorder 

8 (PTSD), an evaluation of the effects of the use 

9 of cannabis on— 

10 (i) the symptoms of PTSD (based on 

11 the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale, 

12 the PTSD checklist, the PTSD symptom 

13 scale, the posttraumatic diagnostic scale, 

14 and other applicable methods of evaluating 

15 PTSD symptoms); 

16 (ii) the reduction or increase in 

17 benzodiazepine use or dosage; 

18 (iii) the reduction or increase in alco19 hol use; 

20 (iv) mood; 

21 (v) anxiety; 

22 (vi) social functioning; 

23 (vii) agitation; 

24 (viii) suicidal ideation; and 


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1 (ix) sleep quality, including frequency 

2 of nightmares and night terrors. 

3 (3) OPTIONAL ELEMENTS.—The clinical trial 

4 required by paragraph (1) may include an evaluation 

5 of the effects of the use of cannabis to treat chronic 

6 pain and PTSD on— 

7 (A) pulmonary function; 

8 (B) cardiovascular events; 

9 (C) head, neck, and oral cancer; 

10 (D) testicular cancer; 

11 (E) ovarian cancer; 

12 (F) transitional cell cancer; 

13 (G) motor vehicle accidents; 

14 (H) mania; 

15 (I) psychosis; 

16 (J) cognitive effects; or 

17 (K) cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. 

18 (b) COVERED VETERANS.—In this section, the term 

19 ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a veteran who is enrolled in the 

20 patient enrollment system of the Department of Veterans 

21 Affairs under section 1705 of title 38, United States Code. 

22 (c) LONG-TERM OBSERVATIONAL STUDY.—The Sec23 retary may carry out a long-term observational study of 

24 the participants in the clinical trial required under sub25 section (a). 


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1 (d) TYPE OF CANNABIS.—In carrying out the clinical 

2 trial required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

3 study— 

4 (1) varying forms of cannabis, including— 

5 (A) full plants and extracts; and 

6 (B) at least three different strains of can7 nabis with significant variants in phenotypic 

8 traits and various ratios of tetrahydrocannabi9 nol and cannabidiol in chemical composition; 

10 and 

11 (2) varying methods of cannabis delivery, in12 cluding combustible and non-combustible inhalation 

13 and ingestion. 

14 (e) USE OF CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL

15 GROUPS.—The clinical trial required by subsection (a) 

16 shall include both a control group and an experimental 

17 group which shall— 

18 (1) be of similar size and structure; and 

19 (2) represent the demographics of the veteran 

20 population, as determined by the most recent data 

21 from the American Community Survey that is avail22 able prior to the commencement of the clinical trial. 

23 (f) DATA PRESERVATION.—The clinical trial required 

24 by subsection (a) shall include a mechanism to ensure the 

25 preservation of all data, including all data sets, collected 


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1 or used for purposes of the research required by sub2 section (a) in a manner that will facilitate further re3 search. 

4 (g) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 shall— 

7 (1) develop a plan to implement this section 

8 and submit such plan to the Committees on Vet9 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 

10 the Senate; and 

11 (2) issue any requests for proposals the Sec12 retary determines appropriate for such implementa13 tion. 

14 (h) EFFECT ON OTHER BENEFITS.—The eligibility 

15 or entitlement of a covered veteran to any other benefit 

16 under the laws administered by the Secretary or any other 

17 provision of law shall not be affected by the participation 

18 of the covered veteran in a clinical trial or study under 

19 this section. 

20 (i) REPORTS.—During the five-year period beginning 

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

22 shall submit periodically, but not less frequently than an23 nually, to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 


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1 House of Representatives and the Senate reports on the 

2 implementation of this section. 

Æ 


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