The Massachusetts House of Representatives has advanced legislation that would allow certain military veterans to obtain medical marijuana cards without securing a separate certification from a healthcare professional, while also expanding the conditions explicitly covered by the state’s medical marijuana program.
The provisions are included in House Bill 5699, a revised supplemental budget measure reported favorably by the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday. The House subsequently read the measure a second time and ordered it to a third reading, moving it closer to a floor vote.
Under the proposal, veterans who receive healthcare through a federal Veterans Administration (VA) facility could submit official VA documentation confirming a diagnosis of a debilitating medical condition. The Cannabis Control Commission would be authorized to issue medical marijuana registration cards based on that documentation without requiring an additional written or electronic certification from a healthcare professional.
The change would address a longstanding obstacle for veterans who rely on federal healthcare. Under existing Department of Veterans Affairs policy, clinicians may discuss marijuana use with patients but cannot recommend medical marijuana or complete the paperwork necessary to participate in state programs. Veterans consequently must seek certification from outside healthcare providers, potentially adding costs to the registration process.
The House committee’s version also explicitly adds post-traumatic stress disorder, medical conditions producing chronic pain and opioid use disorder to Massachusetts’ list of debilitating medical conditions. The inclusion of opioid use disorder represents an expansion of the original proposal submitted by Governor Maura Healey (D) on September 23, which specifically included PTSD and chronic pain but did not list opioid use disorder.
Massachusetts’ medical marijuana program provides registered patients with benefits unavailable to recreational consumers, including exemptions from marijuana sales taxes and access to higher-potency products. The proposed legislation would allow qualifying veterans to access those benefits without undergoing a second medical certification process, although they would still need to register with the state and provide documentation of a qualifying diagnosis.
The legislation would also require the Cannabis Control Commission to establish procedures and criteria for issuing registration cards to veterans under the new pathway.
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