ptsd marijuana Archives

Georgia House Votes to Add PTSD and Intractable Pain to State’s Medical Marijuana Program

March 2, 2018 by Anthony Martinelli

Georgia’s House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed legislation to expand the state’s medical marijuana program.

The House approved House Bill 764 Wednesday in a 145 to 17 vote, sending it to the Senate for consideration. The measure would allow those with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and intractable pain to join the state’s Low THC Oil Patient Registry. The registry, established in 2015, allows those with certain medical conditions to legally possess and use up to 20 ounces of low-THC cannabis oil .

If the bill is approved by the Senate, it will be sent to Governor Nathan Deal for consideration; Deal has expressed support for the measure, indicating he would likely sign it into law if given the chance. If the measure does become law, PTSD and intractable pain would join epilepsy, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, sickle cell anemia, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and mitochondrial disease as qualifying conditions.

Study: Cannabinoids May Prevent Depressive and PTSD-Like Symptoms Following Severe Stress

February 21, 2018 by Anthony Martinelli

Cannabinoids may prevent both depressive and PTSD-like symptoms following exposure to severe stress, according to a new study being published by the journal Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry.

“Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition highly comorbid with depression”, begins the abstract of the study, which was also published by the U.S. National Institute of Health. “The endocannabinoid (eCB) system and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are suggestively involved in both disorders.” For the study, researchers “examined whether cannabinoids can prevent the long-term depressive-like symptoms induced by exposure to the shock and situational reminders (SRs) model of PTSD.”

Researchers administered a compound meant to mimic the effects of natural cannabinoids in rats two hours after a severe shock. “Cannabinoids prevented the shock/SRs-induced alterations in social recognition memory, locomotion, passive coping, anxiety-like behavior, anhedonia, fear retrieval, fear extinction and startle response as well as the decrease in BDNF levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC)”, states the study. “Furthermore, significant correlations were found between depressive-like behaviors and BDNF levels in the brain.”

Delaware Governor Signs Medical Marijuana PTSD Bill

September 16, 2017September 15, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

Delaware Governor John Carney has signed into law a bill that allows those with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to more easily become medical marijuana patients.

Governor Carney has signed the Bravery Bill into law, allowing those with PTSD to become legal medical marijuana patients if they receive a recommendation from a licensed physician. Before the new law those with PTSD could only get approval for medical marijuana use if they were recommended it by a licensed psychiatrist.

The Bravery Bill was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Margaret Rose Henry, and received strong bipartisan support in both the House of Representatives and Senate.

New Hampshire Governor Signs Bill Allowing Medical Marijuana for PTSD and “Moderate to Severe Pain”

June 30, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

Legislation expanding New Hampshire’s medical marijuana program has been signed into law by Governor Chris Sununu.

House Bill 160, signed into law Wednesday by Governor Sununu, expands the state’s list of qualifying medical cannabis conditions by adding post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and moderate to severe pain. The legislation also allows medical providers to certify patients for any medical condition that produces a qualifying symptom.

The new law, which takes effect August 27th, requires the Department of Health and Human Services to inform patients about the possibility that certain rights may be denied by federal agencies due to their medical marijuana use.

Colorado Governor Signs Bill Allowing Medical Marijuana for PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder

June 6, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

Legislation expanding Colorado’s medical marijuana program has been signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper.

Senate Bill 17 – signed into law yesterday by Governor Hickenlooper – would create “a statutory right to use medical marijuana for a patient with acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder.” The bill “creates the same rights, limitations, and criminal defenses and exceptions as the constitutional right to use medical marijuana” for all other conditions that currently qualify someone to become a legal medical cannabis patient.

The measure passed the Senate in March with a 34 to 1 vote, and was approved in April by the House of Representatives.

Legislation Allowing Medical Cannabis for PTSD and Chronic Pain Approved by New Hampshire Legislature

May 11, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

A measure allowing medical cannabis for post traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain has been approved by New Hampshire’s Senate.

The legislation has already been approved by the state’s House of Representatives; it will soon be sent to Governor Chris Sununu for consideration.

The proposed law would allow those with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain to become legal medical cannabis patients by adding the conditions to the state’s medical cannabis program. Those with PTSD or chronic pain would first need to receive a recommendation from a physician, and register with the state, before they can legally purchase, possess and use cannabis for medical purposes; this is the case with all other qualifying medical conditions.

Medical Cannabis for PTSD Bill Passed by New York Assembly

May 3, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

Legislation to expand New York’s medical cannabis program has been given approval by New York’s Assembly.

Assembly Bill 7006, sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of 36 Assemblymembers (30 Democrats and 6 Republicans), has received approval from the full Assembly. It will now be sent to the Senate, where passage would send it to Governor Andrew Cuomo for consideration.

The proposed law would add post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to New York’s list of qualifying medical cannabis conditions. This would allow those with the condition to legally purchase, possess and use cannabis and cannabis products, given they receive a recommendation from a physician and register with the state.

New York Committee Votes Unanimously to Allow Medical Marijuana for PTSD

April 26, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

A key legislative committee in New York has voted to add post traumatic stress disorder to the state’s list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions.

Assembly Bill 7006 was passed yesterday by the Assembly Health Committee with a unanimous 26 to 0 vote. The proposal is sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of 36 Assemblymembers (30 Democrats and 6 Republicans). The measure must now be passed by a second committee before it can be scheduled for a vote by the full Assembly.

Both Assembly Bill 7006 and its companion legislation Senate Bill 5629 would allow those with PTSD to legally purchase, possess and use cannabis and cannabis medicines if they receive a recommendation from a physician and become registered with the state as a medical cannabis patient.

Colorado Senate Votes 34 to 1 to Allow Medical Marijuana for PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder

March 5, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

Colorado’s full Senate has voted to allow those with post traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder to legally use medical marijuana.

Senate Bill 17-017 passed the Senate with a 34 to 1 vote. Senator Kent Lambert (R) cast the sole “No” vote. The measure has been sent to the House of Representatives, and assigned to the State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee. Passage through the House will send it to Governor John Hickenlooper for consideration.

According to its legislative summary; “The bill creates a statutory right to use medical marijuana for a patient with acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill creates the same rights, limitations, and criminal defenses and exceptions as the constitutional right to use medical marijuana.”

New Hampshire Committee Votes to Allow Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain and PTSD

February 23, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

A legislative committee in New Hampshire has given approval to two bills that would expand the state’s medical marijuana law.

The House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee voted 12 to 6 to add chronic pain as a condition that qualifies someone to legally use marijuana for medical purposes. The committee also voted to add post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition, though the vote was considerably closer; 9 to 8.

The current list of qualifying medical cannabis conditions in New Hampshire includes: