IB 
Union Calendar No. 533 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5520 
[Report No. 115–690] 
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use the authority of the 
Secretary to conduct and support research on the efficacy and safety 
of medicinal cannabis, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 16, 2018 
Mr. WALZ (for himself, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, and Mr. CORREA) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
MAY 18, 2018 
Additional sponsors: Mr. TAKANO, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. COFF-
MAN, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. PETERS, Mr. O’ROURKE, 
Miss RICE of New York, Ms. ESTY of Connecticut, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 
Mr. GAETZ, Mr. CLAY, Mr. JONES, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. EDDIE BER-
NICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. COHEN, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. 
RASKIN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. KIHUEN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. SMITH of Wash-
ington, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. POLIS, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. PIN-
GREE, Ms. TITUS, Mr. CRIST, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Ms. LEE, Mr. GRI-
JALVA, Mr. HECK, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. 
SWALWELL of California, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. THOMAS J. ROONEY of 
Florida, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. COSTELLO
of Pennsylvania, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. 
KHANNA, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mex-
ico, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. SOTO, Mr. RUTHER-
FORD, Mr. LAMB, Mr. CARBAJAL, and Mr. QUIGLEY 
MAY 18, 2018 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 16, 2018] 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Medicinal Cannabis 
Research Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. CONDUCT OF RESEARCH INTO EFFECTS OF CAN-
NABIS ON HEALTH OUTCOMES OF CERTAIN 
VETERANS. 
(a) RESEARCH.—In carrying out the responsibilities 
of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 7303 of 
title 38, United States Code, the Secretary may conduct and 
support research relating to the efficacy and safety of forms 
of cannabis described in subsection (c) on the health out-
comes of covered veterans diagnosed with chronic pain, 
post-traumatic stress disorder, and other conditions the Sec-
retary determines appropriate. The Secretary shall ensure 
that such research is conducted in accordance with applica-
ble regulations relating to the oversight of research, includ-
ing such regulations prescribed by the Office of Research 
and Development of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 
Department of Health and Human Services (including 
through the National Institute on Drug Abuse), the Food 
and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Adminis-
tration, and the National Institutes of Health. 
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(b) DATA PRESERVATION.—Research conducted pursu-
ant to subsection (a) shall include a mechanism to ensure 
the preservation of all data, including all data sets, collected 
or used for purposes of the research required by subsection 
(a) in a manner that will facilitate further research. 
(c) FORMS OF CANNABIS TO BE RESEARCHED.—The 
forms of cannabis described in this subsection are— 
(1) varying forms of cannabis, including— 
(A) full plants and extracts; 
(B) at least three different strains of can-
nabis with significant variants in phenotypic 
traits and various ratios of tetrahydrocannabinol 
and cannabidiol in chemical composition; and 
(C) other chemical analogs of tetrahydro-
cannabinol; and 
(2) varying methods of cannabis delivery, in-
cluding topical application, combustible and non- 
combustible inhalation, and ingestion. 
(d) IMPLEMENTATION.—If the Secretary conducts and 
supports research under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall— 
(1) before conducting and supporting such re-
search, develop a plan to implement this section and 
submit such plan to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
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fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate; 
and 
(2) issue any requests for proposals the Secretary 
determines appropriate for such implementation. 
(e) REPORTS.—During the five-year period beginning 
on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
submit periodically, but not less frequently than annually, 
to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate reports on— 
(1) the implementation of this section; or 
(2) the rationale of the Secretary with respect to 
determining not to implement this section. 
(f) COVERED VETERAN DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a veteran who is enrolled in 
the patient enrollment system of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs under section 1705 of title 38, United States Code. 
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Union Calendar No. 533 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5520 
[Report No. 115–690] 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
use the authority of the Secretary to conduct and 
support research on the efficacy and safety of 
medicinal cannabis, and for other purposes. 
MAY 18, 2018 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:37 May 18, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6651
Sfmt 6651
E:\BILLS\H5520.RH
H5520
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