Connecticut Approves Chronic Pain as Qualifying Condition to Medical Cannabis Program
Connecticut’s medical cannabis program is about to get a lot bigger!
Last September the Regulation Review Committee approved two new conditions for the State’s eight-year-old medical marijuana program. These recommendations were made by the Board of Physicians and Commissioner of Consumer Protection. By adding chronic pain and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome to the list of qualifying conditions, there are now 38 ailments that qualify a patient for medical cannabis in the State of Connecticut. Below is a breakdown of approved conditions for adults over 18 years of age, as well as patients under the age of 18.
For Adults, Debilitating Medical Conditions Include:
- Cancer (Effective 2012)
- Glaucoma (Effective 2012)
- Positive status for HIV or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Effective 2012)
- Parkinson’s Disease (Effective 2012)
- Multiple Sclerosis (Effective 2012)
- Damage to the Nervous Tissue Of the Spinal Cord with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity (Effective 2012)
- Epilepsy (Effective 2012)
- Cachexia (Effective 2012)
- Wasting Syndrome (Effective 2012)
- Crohn’s Disease (Effective 2012)
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Effective 2012)
- Sickle Cell Disease (Effective 2016)
- Post Laminectomy Syndrome with Chronic Radiculopathy (Effective 2016)
- Severe Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (Effective 2016)
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Effective 2016)
- Ulcerative Colitis (Effective 2016)
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Type I and Type II (Effective 2016)
- Cerebral Palsy (Effective 2016)
- Cystic Fibrosis (Effective 2016)
- Irreversible Spinal Cord Injury with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity (Effective 2016)
- Terminal Illness Requiring End-Of-Life Care (Effective 2016)
- Uncontrolled Intractable Seizure Disorder (Effective 2016)
- Spasticity or Neuropathic Pain Associated with Fibromyalgia (Effective 2018)
- Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis (Effective 2018)
- Post Herpetic Neuralgia (Effective 2018)
- Hydrocephalus with Intractable Headache (Effective 2018)
- Intractable Headache Syndromes (Effective 2018)
- Neuropathic Facial Pain (Effective 2018)
- Muscular Dystrophy (Effective 2018)
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Effective 2018)
- Chronic Neuropathic Pain Associated with Degenerative Spinal Disorders (Effective 2018)
- Interstitial Cystitis (Effective 2019)
- MALS Syndrome (Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome) (Effective 2019)
- Vulvodynia and Vulvar Burning (Effective 2019)
- Intractable Neuropathic Pain that is Unresponsive to Standard Medical Treatments (Effective 2019)
- Tourette Syndrome (Effective 2019)
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (Effective 2020)
For Patients Under 18, Debilitating Medical Conditions Include:
- Cerebral Palsy (Effective 2016)
- Cystic Fibrosis (Effective 2016)
- Irreversible Spinal Cord Injury with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity (Effective 2016)
- Severe Epilepsy (Effective 2016)
- Terminal Illness Requiring End-Of-Life Care (Effective 2016)
- Uncontrolled Intractable Seizure Disorder (Effective 2016)
- Muscular Dystrophy (Effective 2018)
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Effective 2018)
- Intractable Neuropathic Pain that is Unresponsive to Standard Medical Treatments (Effective 2018)
- Tourette Syndrome for patients who have failed standard medical treatment (Effective 2019)
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
One of the most common uses for medical cannabis is chronic pain. With the opioid crisis raging all across America, doctors have become increasingly uncomfortable and, in some cases, unwilling to prescribe narcotic painkillers even when patients have a legitimate need for them. This is a big win for both patients and cannabis businesses at a critical time of uncertainty across the industry and will most certainly lead to exponential growth for the program.