‘We’re Interested In Looking’ At Medical Marijuana For Vets on May 31, 2017 “The American Legion, a 2.5 million-member veterans service organization that’s never been known for social liberalism, has vocally lobbied for medical marijuana research for some time, issuing two national resolutions on the issue and pressing the White House for meetings on medicinal pot for several weeks. Celli and Joe Plenzler, the Legion’s director of media affairs, published a pro-pot Defense One op-ed last week that spurred today’s press-conference question to Shulkin.His plans include expanding same-day mental-health and primary-care services for vets at more facilities; getting more firing power over VA employees with congressional legislation; freeing more funds for vet care in the private sector; selling off vacant and underutilized VA property; and modernizing the department’s aged IT infrastructure — an initiative that the secretary said would require an additional funding request from Congress, over and above the Trump administration’s proposed VA budget.

But Shulkin’s highest priority, he said, was reducing veteran suicides, even among vets who weren’t in VA care, and he used his address to announce the launch of a summer campaign by the department to tackle suicides.” TaskandPurpose.com