Washington Senate Unanimously Passes Bill to Add PTSD as Qualifying Medical Cannabis Condition

Washington Senate Unanimously Passes Bill to Add PTSD as Qualifying Medical Cannabis Condition

Washington State’s full Senate, with a 48 to 0 vote, has approved a bill to add PTSD as a qualifying medical cannabis condition.

Senate Bill 5379 was filed by Senator Steve Hobbs, an active member of the Army National Guard, and has been sent to the state’s House of Representatives. Its passage in the House will send it to Governor Jay Inslee for consideration. Nine other states – Michigan, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Arizona and Oregon – allow those with PTSD to use cannabis for medical purposes.

According to a study published last year 2014 in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, cannabis may provide a viable treatment option for PTSD. A study published a short while later in December in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology found that cannabis can treat PTSD-induced nightmares.

According to the National Institute of Health, PTSD affects around 7.7 million people in the United States.

Senate Bill 5379 has been assigned to the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.

– TheJointBlog