We, the undersigned, would like to thank Governor Northam, Health and Human Resources Secretary Carey, and our Virginia legislators for creating a healthy medical cannabis environment in the Commonwealth in 2020.
We are writing to urge you to support the removal of the 5% THC cap and help clarify the conflicting definitions surrounding cannabis in Virginia that currently make seeking treatment options confusing for veteran patients and their doctors. These definitions are particularly taxing on veterans, as they rely on multiple treatment options to cope with the variety and complexities of military trauma. To accommodate this broader range of diagnosed conditions and diseases, it is critical that these overly burdensome, needlessly complex definitions are clarified.
Veteran patients deserve treatment options to serve their needs for medical care. Unnecessarily complicated definitions of cannabis ratios and percentages harm the patient and degrade their access to safe cannabis. This creates more demand for the unregulated, untested, illicit market, while increasing the negative stigma toward cannabis as a known, healthy treatment option. Doctors and their veteran patients desire more choice from the health industry, not less, during this time of crisis in our community.
We are grateful for your leadership in building the foundation of Virginia’s medical cannabis future. We hope to see additional changes to clarify these definitions and ensure patients, pharmacists, and doctors can decide on treatment together.
