Pa. medical marijuana advisory board nixes new qualifying conditions as industry booms - TribLIVE

gomotar.blogspot.com

Medical marijuana in Pennsylvania is more popular than ever, this month surpassing $1 billion in all-time sales from dispensaries to patients.

The state’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board noted the landmark at its quarterly meeting Tuesday before debating whether to add new medical conditions to the list of reasons Pennsylvanians can buy legal pot.

The board voted against adding insomnia to the list, while tabling a discussion on traumatic brain injuries.

The meeting was held online via Zoom.

More than 460,000 Pennsylvania residents are registered with the medical marijuana program, and they buy almost 400,000 marijuana products every week, according to John Collins, director of the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana.

The program is growing every week, though dispensaries and patients still struggle with intermittent product shortages, Collins said.

“While there is ample supply in the entirety of the network, stock out at the individual dispensaries is very problematic,” he said.

There are 23 medical conditions that can qualify patients for the program, but the vast majority of residents qualify under just three. Anxiety disorders, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder make up about 80 percent of qualifying cases, according to Collins.

Members of the public can apply for new conditions to be added to the list. The board considers these applications and makes recommendations, though Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine has the final say.

The original list had 21 conditions, until the state added anxiety disorders and Tourette’s syndrome in July 2019.

Board members were skeptical about adding insomnia to the list.

Insomnia takes many forms, and is often caused by underlying medical issues, which already may be qualifying conditions, said Department of Health Executive Deputy Secretary and advisory board member Sarah Boetang.

“Not all experiences of insomnia rise to the level of being a serious medical condition,” she said.

Dr. Bill Trescher, board member and Chief of Penn State Hershey Medical Center’s Pediatric Neurology, said the board needs to be extremely cautious when recommending new conditions that could allow children to be prescribed medical marijuana.

“I have great reservations and great concerns about the effects of these substances on the developing brain,” he said.

Board member Luke Schultz, a medical marijuana patient, said insomnia should be added to the list. He said he and others have found marijuana extremely helpful when sleep is elusive.

“I’ve been using some of the products that are specifically formulated for sleep, so it’s already a big part of the program,” he said. He said people who have insomnia but no other medical conditions should be allowed the same relief.

“They’re kind of out of luck, they kind of have to wait until they get chronic pain or anxiety or something that can get them into the program,” he said.

The final vote was 7-4 to reject the application. Applicants can try one more time, appealing to Levine directly for reconsideration.

The board decided to wait until a future meeting to decide about adding traumatic brain injuries to the list.

Traumatic brain injuries are a broad category, and the application was unspecific about which types of injuries should qualify patients for medical marijuana, said board member Jennifer Shuckrow.

“There’s some distinction between a one-time concussion and a knife wound, for example,” she said.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jacob at 724-836-6646, jtierney@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Health | News | Pennsylvania | Top Stories

Search

Pa. medical marijuana advisory board nixes new qualifying conditions as industry booms - TribLIVE

0 Response to "Pa. medical marijuana advisory board nixes new qualifying conditions as industry booms - TribLIVE"

Post a Comment