PTSD, Osteoarthritis Among Conditions Recommend For Medical Marijuana List By State Panel

By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 5, 2015 4:20PM

Those suffering from PTSD and migraines should be eligible for medical marijuana under the state’s new program, a panel of public health experts decided Monday.

The panel reviewed 14 debilitating medical conditions in a day-long hearing in Chicago, from anorexia nervosa to superior canal dehiscence syndrome. The panel ultimately approved 11 conditions, including chronic post-surgical pain, irritable bowel syndrome and anorexia for the list of over three-dozen medical conditions covered under new state laws legalizing medical marijuana.

But anxiety, diabetes and a rare disorder in which the body produces too many blood platelets were left off the list. The recommendations were passed on to the Illinois Department of Public Health, which has final approval.

There is little medical consensus on whether medical marijuana could alleviate some of the symptoms of PTSD, but many military veterans have been pushing for its approval. Jim Champion, a panel member and a veteran, said he was "very proud" of the board's unanimous approval of the condition, which is said to affect thousands of U.S. war veterans and millions of others who have experienced trauma in their lives.

Illinois became the 20th state to legalize medical marijuana in 2014. But setting up the potentially-$30 million industry and appropriate regulations around it has been slow-going for lawmakers.

The complete list of conditions approved by the panel Monday include:

Anorexia Nervosa
Chronic Post-Operative Pain
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Migraine
Neuro-Behcet’s Autoimmune disease
Neuropathy
Osteoarthritis
Polycystic kidney disease
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Superior canal dehiscence syndrome

[Tribune]