Something that makes me sad is when someone can clearly benefit from medical marijuana, but they don’t qualify as a patient because they don’t suffer from a ‘qualifying condition.’ That’s one thing that I like about California compared to other states – their doctors can prescribe marijuana for just about anything. I feel that if a doctor thinks that someone needs medical marijuana, regardless of the condition, the doctor should be able to make that call.
An example would be PTSD. Medical marijuana clearly helps those that suffer from PTSD, yet there are still many states that don’t list it as a qualifying condition. While some people can still qualify due to other ailments, such as pain, there are many that can’t and have to suffer without medical marijuana. As more and more states pass medical marijuana laws, the trend is to have less and less qualifying conditions, which is a shame.
It looks like Washington DC is realizing that their medical marijuana program is flawed in this area. Washington DC Mayor Vince Gray is looking into expanding the list of qualifying conditions. According to the Washingtonian:
“Gray’s new panel will look at medical marijuana laws in other states, according to a memorandum published by his office this week. The committee will be composed of two four-member subcommittees. One group—including Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier (or a subordinate) will examine the medical mariijuana program’s effectiveness and whether it should be expanded to allow home cultivation. The other subcommittee, whose members will be appointed by the Department of Health, will consider if any medical conditions should be added to the list of illnesses that qualify a person for medical marijuana.”
I hope the panel does what’s right, and adds more qualifying conditions to the program. If they look at other states, they will see which states are working (such as Oregon) and which states are not (New Jersey). If someone is suffering, and medical marijuana will help, there should be nothing more to the conversation. Anything that is said in opposition lacks compassion, plain and simple.
