illinois medical cannabis Archives

PTSD is the Most Common Condition Treated by Medical Cannabis in Illinois

October 4, 2018

In Illinois, the number of patients who use medical cannabis for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) surpasses that of any other condition, according to a new state report.

The report states that PTSD has become the most common medical ailment among patients who are participating in the state’s legal medical cannabis program. The report also found that the program has grown 83% this year to over 46,000 patients.

The number of patients with PTSD who are legal medical cannabis patients doubled in fiscal year 2018, to more than 4,000. This surpassed fibromyalgia (3,400 patients), and cancer (2,500 patients), which were #1 and #2 last year. Rounding out the top five are spinal cord disease and injuries and traumatic brain injuries.

Illinois Legislature Passes Legislation to Allow Those Who Could be Prescribed Opioids to Become Medical Cannabis Patients

June 4, 2018

Legislation to allow those who have been or could be prescribed opioids to join the state’s medical cannabis program has been passed by the Illinois Legislature and sent to Governor Bruce Rauner for consideration.

Senate Bill 336 was filed by Senator Don Harmon along with a bipartisan group of 47 other lawmakers. The measure was passed by the Senate in April by a vote of 44 to 6; last week it passed the House of Representatives 77 to 38 (the same day the Senate voted 44 to 3 to concur with amendments passed by the House). The measure will now be considered by Governor Rauner.

The proposed law “includes in the definition of “debilitating medical condition” any other medical condition for which an opioid has been or could be prescribed by a physician based on generally accepted standards of care.”

Illinois Legislature Passes Bill Allowing Students to Use Medical Marijuana at School

May 19, 2018

In an overwhelming 149 to 3 vote, Illinois’ full legislature has passed a bill to allow students who are medical marijuana patients to use their medicine on school premises.

House Bill 4870, filed by Representative Louis Lang along with nine other lawmakers, is known as Ashley’s Law. Named after Ashley Surin, a 12-year-old who uses medical marijuana to treat the epilepsy she developed during chemotherapy, passed the Senate Thursday by a vote of 50 to 2. This comes roughly a month after the bill was passed by the House of Representatives 99 to 1.

Having passed both chambers of the state’s legislature, House Bill 4870 will now be sent to Governor Bruce Rauner for consideration. The proposed law amends the School Code to require “a school district, public school, charter school, or nonpublic school to authorize a parent or guardian of a student who is a qualifying patient to administer a medical cannabis infused product to the student on school premises or a school bus if both the student (as a qualifying patient) and the parent or guardian (as a designated caregiver) have been issued registry identification cards under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act.”

Illinois Judge Orders State to Add Intractable Pain as Qualifying Medical Cannabis Condition

January 16, 2018

In a decision that will significantly expand the pool of people eligible to use medical cannabis in Illinois, a judge has ruled that the state must add intractable pain as a qualifying medical cannabis condition.

In 2016 the Illinois Department of Public Health rejected a petition to add intractable pain to the state’s medical cannabis program. Now, two years later, Cook County Judge Raymond Mitchell has ordered the agency to add the condition. Intractable pain is defined as pain that’s resistant to standard treatment options.

The ruling comes from a lawsuit brought forth by Ann Mednick, who often experiences extreme pain associated with osteoarthritis; Mednick uses prescription opioids, but says they fail to control the pain and result in numerous side effects.

Illinois Judge Allows 11-Year-Old to Use Medical Cannabis at School

January 13, 2018

**In a decision that may have a far reaching and long lasting impact, an Illinois judge has allowed an 11-year-old girl to use medical marijuana at school, reports NPR.**

Although medical cannabis is legal in Illinois, it’s against the law for students to use it in school or have school nurses administer it. However, a judge has made an exemption to the law for Ashley Surin, an 11-year-old who overcame a leukemia diagnosis at just 2 years old. Despite overcoming the illness, chemotherapy left her having semi regular seizures. Her mother, Maureen Surin, told NPR that since starting medical cannabis treatment, her seizures have largely declined in number. “We’re amazed with her progress,” says Surin.

Her parents filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday against Schaumburg School District 54 and the State of Illinois, claiming that the state’s ban on taking the drug at school violates the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). On Friday, a judge ruled in their favor after hearing from the school district, which reportedly had concerns that its employees may be subject to legal penalties for helping Ashley with her medications.

Judge Orders Illinois to Add Post-Operative Pain as Qualifying Medical Cannabis Condition

September 22, 2016September 22, 2016

Cook County Judge Neil Cohen has ordered the Illinois Department of Health to add post-operative chronic pain as a condition that qualifies people to become legal medical cannabis patients. The state’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Board recommended earlier this year that the condition be added to the medical cannabis program, but the Department of Health has declined to do so.

The judge, who ruled in June that the state must add PTSD as a medical cannabis condition (which was followed by Governor Bruce Rauner signing a bill doing just that), gave the director of the Health Department, Dr. Nirav Shah, 20 days to add post-operative chronic pain to the list of qualifying medical cannabis conditions. He scheduled a hearing for November 3rd “to ensure the Director’s compliance with this order.”

PTSD, Terminal Illness Now Qualifying Medical Cannabis Conditions in Illinois

July 5, 2016

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has signed Senate Bill 10 into law, expanding the state’s medical cannabis pilot program while adding post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and terminal illness as qualifying medical cannabis conditions.

Under the new law the deadline for the state’s medical cannabis pilot program (which began in 2014) would be extended from 2018, to 2020. The new law will also makes patient and caregiver cards valid for three years, instead of one, and makes it so that fingerprints are no longer be required upon renewal.

Another change makes it so that individuals don’t need a doctor’s recommendation to become a medical cannabis patient, they simply need to get the doctor to verify that they have a doctor-patient relationship, and that they have a qualifying condition. This will greatly benefit those who have a qualifying condition but can’t find a physician to recommend medical cannabis

Judge Orders Illinois to Add PTSD as Qualifying Medical Cannabis Condition

July 5, 2016July 2, 2016

Cook County Judge Neil Cohen – responding to a lawsuit filed by an Iraq war veteran – has ordered the Illinois Department of Health to add post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying medical cannabis condition within 30 days. This is the first court decision among eight lawsuits filed by patients upset with rejections by Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration of recommendations made by the state’s medical cannabis advisory board.

Veteran Daniel Paul Jabs, who filed the lawsuit, praised the court’s decision, saying that it; “feels this decision gives him and other military veterans suffering from PTSD the respect they deserve from the state and the governor’s office,” according to attorney Michael Goldberg.

Illinois Governor to Sign Bill Adding PTSD, Terminal Illness as Medical Cannabis Conditions

June 6, 2016

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner will soon sign into law a bill that would expand the state’s medical cannabis program, including adding post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and terminal illness as qualifying conditions, his spokesperson tells us.

Senate Bill 10, in addition to adding the above-mentioned conditions, would expand the deadline for the state’s medical cannabis pilot program from 2018, to 2020. The new law will also make it so that patient and caregiver cards are valid for three years, rather than just one as the law currently stands, and fingerprints will no longer be required upon renewal. Also, patients will no longer need to receive a recommendation from a physician to become a legal medical cannabis patient, they’ll simply need to get the doctor to verify that they have a doctor-patient relationship, and that they have a qualifying condition.

Bill to Add PTSD and Terminal Illness to Medical Program Passes Illinois Legislature, Expected to Become Law

May 31, 2016

Illinois’ full legislature has given approval to Senate Bill 10, a measure to expand the state’s medical cannabis pilot program by extending the deadline and adding two new qualifying conditions.

Senate Bill 10 was passed overwhelmingly in both the House – 86 to 27 – and the Senate – 50 to 7. It now goes to Governor Bruce Rauner for consideration. Although Rauner previously vetoed a bill to add PTSD as a qualifying medical cannabis condition, he recently announced that he has reversed his opposition and will not veto this new bill; whether he’ll sign it into law, or allow it to become law without his signature, however, is unknown.