Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access (VMCA), which was founded as Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access (VMMA) reflecting the pejorative word "
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
", is an
Elliston, Virginia
Elliston is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. It lies between the city of Roanoke and the town of Christiansburg in the southwestern part of the state. The population as of the 2010 Census was 902. ...
-based non-profit service organization designed to assist American
veterans
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that has ...
who wish to be able to use
marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's recommendation. VMCA works towards the freedom for veterans to discuss the medical use of marijuana with their doctors without the risk of reprisal.
Activity in the United States
When it was created in 2007, Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access was the first
American veteran service organization
A service club or service organization is a voluntary nonprofit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined firstl ...
designed to assist veterans with
medical access to cannabis.
Since then, VCMA has been
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...
and
advocating
Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...
both at the federal level (
Veterans Affairs
Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...
) and at the State-level, to geographically and qualitatively increase access to
medical cannabis and derivates for
US military veterans.
The organization seeks to make sure that the
United States federal government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 ...
allows veterans access to medicines their doctor prescribes or recommends, and broaden the right to access and the affordability of medicines.
Activity at international level
During the first decade of the 21st century, VMCA increased its presence and advocacy close to the relevant international institutions, in particular on policy issues at the
Commission on Narcotic Drugs
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is one of the functional commissions of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and is the central drug policy-making body within the United Nations System. The CND also has important man ...
meetings, and close to the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...
and the
International Narcotics Control Board
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent treaty body, one of the four treaty-mandated bodies under international drug control law (alongside the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, UNODC on behalf of the Secretary-General, an ...
. VMCA is also following the process of scientific review of cannabis by the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
towards a change in the scheduling of the substance at international level.
VCMA has developed close collaborations with major European NGOs such as
DrugScience, the
European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies
The European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (''ENCOD''), originally ''European NGO Council On Drugs and development'', is a network of European non-governmental organisations and citizens concerned with the impact of current inte ...
or the
FAAAT think & do tank
For Alternative Approaches to Addiction, Think & do tank (FAAAT or FAAAT think & do tank) is an international non-profit organization working on drug policy, created in 2015 and based in Paris, France.
The organization focuses on research and a ...
. VCMA Executive Director Michael Krawitz has been named Senior Adviser of FAAAT, with which he has developed an active advocacy and research in relation with the
WHO
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...
review of Cannabis for international scheduling.
In 2015 in Prague, VMCA was involved in the creation of the
IMCPC (International Medical Cannabis Patients' Coalition).
Since 2017, VCMA collaborates in the
United Nations Office in Vienna
The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) is one of the four major office sites of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of the ...
to the organization of the Legal Regulations Fora, series of civil society events aimed at spreading ground-up proposals that aim to impact national decision-makers gathered in these meetings.
See also
*
Cannabis and the United States military
Cannabis usage is currently prohibited in the United States military, but historically it has been used recreationally by some troops, and some cannabis-based medicines were used in the military as late as the twentieth century.
Military medicin ...
*
Legality of cannabis
The legality of cannabis for Medical cannabis, medical and Recreational drug use, recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medi ...
*
*
Medical cannabis in the United States
In the United States, the use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 37 states, four out of five permanently inhabited U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, as of February 2022. Eleven other states have more restrictive laws ...
*
International Drug Control system
*
Schedules of controlled drugs and substances
*
Michael Krawitz
Michael Alan Krawitz is a US Air force veteran, Executive Director of the non-profit Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, researcher on the history of medical cannabis, and international advocate for cannabis policy reform with FAAAT think & ...
References
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External links
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{{Portal bar, Cannabis, Medicine, Virginia
2007 in cannabis
American veterans' organizations
Cannabis law reform organizations based in the United States
Cannabis and the United States military
Medicinal use of cannabis organizations based in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in the United States
Organizations based in Virginia
Organizations established in 2007