Arizona Considering Additional Conditions for Medical Marijuana
Arizona may add more conditions where patients may use medical marijuana, beyond the set of health conditions present in its current medical marijuana law.
The Arizona Department of Health Services held a public hearing Friday on the first batch of requests for expansion of coverage. The department is required by law to consider such requests.
Among the conditions that are being requested to be added to the health conditions covered in the use of medical marijuana are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), migraines, depression, and general anxiety disorder. The current law allows the use of medical marijuana for the treatment of such conditions as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, chronic pain, muscle spasms, and hepatitis C.
In addition to the public hearing on requests to expand coverage, Friday is also the deadline for submission of applications to operate medical marijuana dispensaries. One dispensary per designated area will be allowed to operate, and up to 126 dispensaries will be allowed to operate across the state. As of end of day Wednesday, almost 200 dispensary applications have been received by the state, according to Health Services Director Will Humble. More applications were expected to be submitted by the Friday deadline.
To date, more than 28,000 people have been awarded medical marijuana user cards. The most common medical condition that people with medical marijuana user cards suffer from is chronic pain. Most of these users are also allowed to grow marijuana for personal use, at least until a dispensary is allowed to operate in their area.
Tags: marijuana for pain relief, medical marijuana for diseases treatment, medical marijuana for management of diseases, uses of medical marijuana
