,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bgif  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #g1       
#bjah,mr4 ,tester 7for himself and ,mr4 
,sullivan7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,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        
cannabis1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,,va ,medicinal ,cannabis ,research 
,act of #bjah4  #b4 ,conduct of research
 into effects of cannabis on health     
outcomes of certain veterans  7a7       
,research required ,in carrying out the 
responsibilities of the ,secretary of   
,veterans ,affairs under section #gcjc  
of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 the
 ,secretary may conduct and support     
research relating to the efficacy and   
safety of forms of cannabis described in

 subsection 7c7 on the health outcomes  
of covered veterans diagnosed with      
chronic pain1 post-traumatic stress     
disorder1 and other conditions the      
,secretary determines appropriate4  7b7 
,data preservation ,research conducted  
pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall include
 a mechanism to ensure the preservation 
of all data1 including all data sets1   
collected or used for purposes of the   
research required by subsection 7a7 in a
 manner that will facilitate further    
research4  7c7 ,forms of cannabis ,to be
 researched ,the forms of cannabis      
described in this subsection are-- 7#a7 
varying forms of cannabis1 including--  
7,a7 full plants and extracts2  7,b7 at 
least three different strains of        
cannabis with significant variants in   
phenotypic traits and various ratios of 
tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol in 
chemical composition2 and  7,c7 other   
chemical analogs of                     
tetrahydrocannabinol2 and  7#b7 varying 
methods of cannabis delivery1 including 

topical application1 combustible and    
non-combustible inhalation1 and         
ingestion4  7d7 ,implementation ,not    
later than #ahj days after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary shall-- 7#a7 develop a plan  
to implement this section and submit    
such plan to the ,committees on         
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives and the ,senate2 and   
7#b7 issue any requests for proposals   
the ,secretary determines appropriate   
for such implementation4  7e7 ,reports  
,during the five-year period beginning  
on the date of the enactment of this    
,act1 the ,secretary shall submit       
periodically1 but not less frequently   
than annually1 to the ,committees on    
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives and the ,senate reports
 on the implementation of this section4 
7f7 ,covered veteran defined ,in this   
section1 the term covered veteran means 
a veteran who is enrolled in the patient
 enrollment system of the ,department of

 ,veterans ,affairs under section #agje 
of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4