Thursday, July 29 saw a full House of Representatives vote on their appropriations spending bill. The chamber also voted on the approved amendments from the House Rules Committee. The House approved one amendment and removed others from the spending bill after they fell short in the vote.
Psychedelic Research
One of those removed came from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. She proposed removing restrictions on Schedule I substances, like cannabis and psychedelics, to allow researchers easier access to study them. Unfortunately lawmakers removed the amendment. However, it wasn’t removed without notice. In the spending bill, the House notes the need for psychedelic research:
“Psychedelic Treatments.—Despite the recent Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2020 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report that showed there were no significant increases in the veteran suicide rate from 2017 and 2018, the Committee is concerned that over 17 veterans on average continue to commit suicide each day, which is a number that has remained persistent over the past decade. There have been many recent studies and clinical trials demonstrating the positive impact of alternative therapies, including psychedelics, for treatment resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder, particularly for veteran participants. In light of growing interest in this area, the Committee encourages NIH and other relevant Federal agencies to undertake, and where appropriate expand, research to evaluate the effectiveness of psychedelic therapies in treating PTSD, major depressive disorder, and other serious mental health conditions.”
Further Research
Other research initiatives did not become left out of the bill. The appropriations spending bill also focused on cannabis research as well as cannabinoid research:
“Cannabidiol Research.—The Committee strongly believes that cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), minor cannabinoids, and terpenes—compounds found in cannabis— may provide beneficial medicinal effects. However, there is insufficient scientific information about the short- and long-term effects of these compounds. The Committee is also concerned that marijuana policies on the Federal level and in the States are being changed without the benefit of scientific research to help guide those decisions. Additional, coordinated research on a national scale is necessary to determine the toxicology and medicinal effects of these compounds.
“The Committee believes that NIH should consider significantly expanding funds to study the medicinal effects and toxicology of CBD, CBG, CBC, minor cannabinoids, and terpenes. This expanded effort should include funding of clinical trials with academic health centers to study the long-term medicinal benefits and toxicology of CBD, CBG, CBC, minor cannabinoids, and terpenes. The Committee encourages NIH to continue supporting a full range of research on the health effects of marijuana and its components, including research to understand how marijuana policies affect public health.”
The one amendment approved by the House came from Representative Kurt Schrader, D-Oreg. The amendment requires the FDA to move forward on classification of CBD as a dietary supplement and a food ingredient.
Banking and Sales
The House noted any money from the Department of Treasury could not fight banks working with state-legal cannabis businesses. This isn’t as far reaching as the SAFE Banking Act, but it’s a start activists are excited about.
The biggest move the spending bill saw is the removal of the rider preventing Washington, D.C. from operating its own legal cannabis market. In 2014, Washington citizens voted to allow the legal sale and cultivation of recreational cannabis. However, Congress placed a rider on the nation’s capital. The city can’t use its funds to create a cannabis program while the rider is in place. So the city hasn’t been able to create its own program even though that’s what people want.
Recently, the Washington, D.C. police chief spoke out against cannabis legalization, blaming the increased violence on the illicit market. However, Mayor Muriel Bowser, D, says the market will bring sales above ground to better regulate cannabis and decrease violence. It seems that the House agrees and has removed the rider from the bill.
Veterans
The final big issue in the appropriations spending bill surrounded Veterans. The first point came in the form of psychedelic research as stated above. Veterans have access to the home loans even if they work in legal cannabis industries in legal states. However some lawmakers are disappointed in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) hasn’t made more effort into clarifying this classification to lenders and borrowers. Some veterans have been outright denied loans because of where they work.
“Home Loan Income Verification.—The Committee understands that as directed by House Report 116–63, VA has clarified that nothing in VA statutes or regulations specifically prohibits a Veteran whose income is derived from state-legalized cannabis activities from obtaining a certificate of eligibility for VA home loan benefits. The Committee is disappointed with VA’s inaction on the directive included in House Report 116–445 and again directs the VA to improve communication with eligible lending institutions to reduce confusion among lenders and borrowers on this matter and to report to the Committee on progress made no later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act.”
Despite what the VA has done to move veterans forward, there still seem to be restrictions. “VA is committed to working diligently to serve our Nation’s Veterans by providing eligible Veterans with home loan guaranty benefits,” VA said. “There is nothing in VA statutes or regulations that specifically prohibits a Veteran whose income is derived from state-legalized cannabis activities from obtaining a certificate of eligibility for VA home loan benefits. However, given the disparity between Federal and State laws on cannabis, determining whether such a Veteran is able to obtain a loan has become a complex issue.”
Senate
The House of Representatives has been hard working on this appropriations spending bill. However, the Senate has yet to begin their version of the spending bill. Each chamber makes their own spending bill. Then they work together to make sure each section is similar to the others. If they aren’t, then both chambers will work together to create a compromise before sending the bill to the President.
Since the Senate has yet to begin, there could still be several changes ahead. Potential changes could happen regarding cannabis research, veteran affairs, banking, and Washington, D.C. sales. When the Senate begins to create their appropriations spending bill, we will update you with the latest.
Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.