U.S. War Veterans Seek Medical Marijuana
Published on 02/10/2026
Retired American military personnel are urging lawmakers in Washington to conduct more research on the effects of cannabis in the country. In a series of joint hearings by the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees, representatives from Disabled American Veterans (DAV) announced that the group's primary health issue is the use of medical cannabis.
Most of the retirees served in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade. Vincente Lawrence, commander of the “Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.” – an organization that cares for war veterans, stated in one of the meetings that the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury among soldiers “has been brought to the forefront of the medical community and the general public due to the high rates of suicides and medication overdoses.”
Vincent also mentioned that those who use medical cannabis are doing so without proper medical guidance. According to the veterans' leader, this reality is a consequence of the lack of federal research and understanding of how medical marijuana can treat certain illnesses and injuries. Lawrence pointed out that preliminary research shows that “states that have legalized medical marijuana have also seen a 15 to 35% reduction in overdose and opioid abuse” – a topic already discussed here on Sechat ( https://www.sechat.com.br/world-news/eua-mortes-por-overdose-e-25-menor-onde-cannabis-e-permitida ).
In this other link below, the session of the United States House of Representatives (in English) that addressed the issue:
