Connecticut officials have voted to expand the state’s medical cannabis program to include four more qualifying conditions.
The Board of Physicians voted in favor of adding fibromyalgia, muscular dystrophy, shingles and rheumatoid arthritis as medical cannabis conditions.
Unfortunately the panel rejected adding atopic dermatitis, eczema, osteoarthritis and severe COPD/emphysema.
“The program is maturing at a deliberate and a thoughtful rate but that it’s gaining more and more acceptance among patients and among the medical community”, says Jonathan Harris, Commissioner of the State Department of Consumer Protection, the agency that oversees the medical marijuana program. Harris applauded the decision to increase the number of qualifying conditions.
According to a report released last month by Care By Design, 100% of those suffering from fibromyalgia who use medical cannabis find relief from the medicine; the report also found 100% of those suffering from migraines and irritable bowel syndrome found relief.
A study published in a 2014 issue fo the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, and e-published ahead of print by the National Institute of health, found that cannabinoids can successfully help against some of the primary symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Researchers of that study concluded that; “a selective CB2 agonist [such as cannabis or its cannabinoid compounds] could be a new therapy for RA that inhibits production of inflammatory mediators from FLS, and osteoclastogenesis.”
Below are the list of conditions that current qualifying someone in Connecticut to become a medial cannabis patient if they receive a recommendation from a physician:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Cachexia
- Cancer
- Cerebral Palsy
- Complex regional pain syndrome
- Crohn’s disease
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Epilepsy
- Glaucoma
- HIV or AIDS
- Intractable spasticity
- Irreversible Spinal Cord Injury with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Post-surgical back pain with a condition called chronic radiculopathy
- Post laminectomy syndrome
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
- Sickle cell disease
- Terminal Illness Requiring End-Of-Life Care
- Ulcerative colitis
- Uncontrolled Intractable Seizure Disorder
