Illinois Prepares to Expand Medical Marijuana

Albeit the medical cannabis program of Illinois was not very successful last year, its General Assembly still approved of a measure reforming the medical cannabis industry for the state. The newest bill passed extended the expiration date and allowed people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as terminal illnesses to access medical marijuana.

The base of the efforts of Senate Bill 10, a measure desperately asking Governor Bruce Rauner not to stop Illinois’s medical marijuana program for a couple more years. When the Illinois Medical Cannabis Program was extended in 2014, it came with a provision that established that Illinois had until 2018 to examine medical marijuana before they would decide whether or not to expand the program. If the governor signs the newest bill, which will likely happen, the pilot program will be in place until summer of 2020. That, in addition to thousands of others being able to use medical cannabis as an overall healthcare strategy.

One certain group of patients that will certainly be better off with the bill would be veterans. Although the state is willing to allow people suffering from PTSD to have access to medical marijuana, the Department of Veterans Affairs typically does not allow for veterans to gain access to medical marijuana. However, since PTSD is going to be officially added to the program, veterans will have the ability to replace dangerous prescription drugs with medical marijuana.

“I see a lot of vets with PTSD, and they don’t qualify for the cannabis program because they don’t have a severe enough chronic condition to warrant it,” said Dr. Greg Randle, a physician with a clinic in Maryville. “But PTSD can be easily treated with cannabis. I can get them off some of those anti-anxiety drugs they’re on right now. It’s a good thing.”