,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #agi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,january #ag1       
#bjai,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 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 disorder1 and for 
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,,va ,medicinal
 ,cannabis ,research ,act of #bjai4  #b4
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs      
clinical trial of the effects of        
cannabis on certain health outcomes of  
adults with chronic pain and            
post-traumatic stress disorder  7a7     
,clinical trial required  7#a7 ,in      
general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall carry out a double-blind 
randomized controlled clinical trial of 

the effects of medical-grade cannabis on
 the health outcomes of covered veterans
 diagnosed with chronic pain and covered
 veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic 
stress disorder4  7#b7 ,required        
elements ,the clinical trial required by
 paragraph 7#a7 shall include-- 7,a7    
with respect to covered veterans        
diagnosed with chronic pain1 an         
evaluation of the effects of the use of 
cannabis on--  7i7 neuropathic pain     
7including pain intensity and           
pain-related outcomes72  7ii7 the       
reduction or increase in opioid use or  
dosage2  7iii7 the reduction or increase
 in benzodiazepine use or dosage2  7iv7 
the reduction or increase in alcohol    
use2  7v7 inflammation2  7vi7 sleep     
quality2  7vii7 spasticity2  7viii7     
agitation2 and  7ix7 quality of life2   
and  7,b7 with respect to covered       
veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic  
stress disorder 7,,ptsd71 an evaluation 
of the effects of the use of cannabis   
on--  7i7 the symptoms of ,,ptsd 7based 

on the ,clinician ,administered ,,ptsd  
,scale1 the ,,ptsd checklist1 the ,,ptsd
 symptom scale1 the posttraumatic       
diagnostic scale1 and other applicable  
methods of evaluating ,,ptsd symptoms72 
7ii7 the reduction or increase in       
benzodiazepine use or dosage2  7iii7 the
 reduction or increase in alcohol use2  
7iv7 mood2  7v7 anxiety2  7vi7 social   
functioning2  7vii7 agitation2  7viii7  
suicidal ideation2 and  7ix7 sleep      
quality1 including frequency of         
nightmares and night terrors4  7#c7     
,optional elements ,the clinical trial  
required by paragraph 7#a7 may include  
an evaluation of the effects of the use 
of cannabis to treat chronic pain and   
,,ptsd on--  7,a7 pulmonary function2   
7,b7 cardiovascular events2  7,c7 head1 
neck1 and oral cancer2  7,d7 testicular 
cancer2  7,e7 ovarian cancer2  7,f7     
transitional cell cancer2  7,g7 motor   
vehicle accidents2  7,h7 mania2  7,i7   
psychosis2  7,j7 cognitive effects2 or  
7,k7 cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome4  

7b7 ,covered veterans ,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    
7c7 ,long-,term observational study ,the
 ,secretary may carry out a long-term   
observational study of the participants 
in the clinical trial required under    
subsection 7a74  7d7 ,type of cannabis  
,in carrying out the clinical trial     
required by subsection 7a71 the         
,secretary shall study-- 7#a7 varying   
forms of cannabis1 including--  7,a7    
full plants and extracts2 and  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#b7 varying 
methods of cannabis delivery1 including 
combustible and non-combustible         
inhalation and ingestion4  7e7 ,use of  
control and experimental groups ,the    

clinical trial required by subsection   
7a7 shall include both a control group  
and an experimental group which shall-- 
7#a7 be of similar size and structure2  
and  7#b7 represent the demographics of 
the veteran population1 as determined by
 the most recent data from the ,american
 ,community ,survey that is available   
prior to the commencement of the        
clinical trial4  7f7 ,data preservation 
,the clinical trial required by         
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  
7g7 ,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  7h7 ,effect on
 other benefits ,the eligibility or     
entitlement of a covered veteran to any 
other benefit under the laws            
administered by the ,secretary or any   
other provision of law shall not be     
affected by the participation of the    
covered veteran in a clinical trial or  
study under this section4  7i7 ,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