Medical marijuana and psychiatric conditions

// added July 06, 2009 // 1 comment //
Image...
copperdragon

more from Culture:

http://www.examiner.com/x-14883-Santa-Cruz-County-Drug-Policy-Examine...

Even though about 30% of medical marijuana patients in California use it for depression and other psychiatric conditions, no other state has approved the use of cannabis for depression.

Of the thirteen states that have medical marijuana laws, all but California require a state board to approve the use of cannabis for conditions not on the short-list explicitly written into each state's law, except Vermont and Maine which have no provision for adding conditions. This short list is fairly standard and is composed exclusively of physical complaints: cachexia, cancer, nausea, glaucoma, pain, seizures (epilepsy), and spasms (Chron's disease, multiple sclerosis).

Psychiatric conditions never make the short list.

Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Rhode Island allow the use of cannabis for Alzheimer's rage. New Mexico allows the use of cannabis for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Evidently, Rhode Island has one legal autistic medical cannabis patient. Washington's state board has denied approval of cannabis for anxiety and depression.

Colorado, Oregon, and Rhode Island provide numbers on their web sites of the relative or absolute number of people using cannabis for various conditions. Glaucoma is 1% in Colorado and 2% in Oregon and Rhode Island. Cachexia is 2% in Colorado and 3% in Oregon. Cancer is 3% in Colorado, 4% in Oregon, and 12% in Rhode Island. Seizure is 4% in Colorado and 3% in Oregon. HIV/AIDS is 2% in Colorado, 2% in Oregon, and 13% in Rhode Island. All of these are short-list conditions.
  1. groups:
    Culture
  2. tags:
    Culture,  Marijuana,  Government,  Medical Marijuana,  3 more

1 comment // Medical marijuana and psychiatric conditions

current videos