New Jersey Committee Votes Unanimously to Add PTSD as Qualifying Medical Cannabis Condition
Legislation that would add post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying medical cannabis condition has been passed unanimously by New Jersey’s Assembly Regulatory Oversight Committee.
Assembly Bill 457 would allow those with PTSD to become legal medical cannabis patients, given they receive a recommendation from a physician and register with the state (as with all other patients). The measure is similar to Assembly Bill 3726, which was passed by New Jersey’s full Assembly last year with a 53 to 13 vote, but failed to advance in the Senate
The move to add PTSD as a qualifying medical cannabis condition is a smart one, as a large number of studies have shown cannabis’ benefit in treating PTSD and its symptoms. For example, a government-funded study using human trials found that “the cannabinoid system may serve as a promising target for innovative intervention strategies (e.g. pharmacological enhancement of exposure-based therapy) in PTSD and other fear learning-related disorders.”
According to the National Institute of Health, PTSD affects about 7.7 million people.
If the bill is passed into law, New Jersey would join Michigan, California, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington and Oregon as states that recognize PTSD as a qualifying condition for the use of medical cannabis.