Sec. 2. Findings
145 words·~1 min read·
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Congress finds the following: Chronic pain affects the veteran population, with almost 60 percent of veterans returning from serving in the Armed Forces in the Middle East, and more than 50 percent of older veterans, who are using the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs living with some form of chronic pain. In 2018, opioids accounted for approximately 70 percent of all drug overdose deaths in the United States. Veterans are twice as likely to die from opioid related overdoses than nonveterans.
States with medical cannabis laws have a 24.8 percent lower mean annual opioid overdose mortality rate compared with States without medical cannabis laws. Marijuana and its compounds show promise for treating a wide-range of diseases and disorders, including pain management. Medical marijuana in States where it is legal may serve as a less harmful alternative to opioids in treating veterans.