Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, Section 44-130-40, by adding an appropriately lettered subsection at the end to read:
/ ( ) The Veterans Equal Access Amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations passed by the United States Congress provides that: 'Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall authorize physicians and other health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide recommendations and opinions to veterans who are residents of states with state marijuana programs regarding the participation of veterans in such state marijuana programs.' The Department of Health and Environmental Control is directed to study: (1) the possibility that a person experiencing an opioid-related overdose would be decreased if access to cannabis was legally permitted; and (2) the extent to which states have latitude by federal law for a Veterans Affairs' physician licensed in the State of South Carolina to provide a written certification that a veteran would benefit from the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes rather than being prescribed opioids. DHEC shall provide the General Assembly a report on the findings by January 1, 2017. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.