Rochester, Minn. – On Monday, nearly 500 people in Minnesota who suffer from unmanageable pain will have access to medical marijuana. But by this time next year, there could be even more conditions added to the program.
Back on July 1st, the Commissioner of Health opened up a petition period where individuals can suggest conditions they believe should be apart of the list of qualified conditions for medical cannabis.
The petitions are backed up through research, and sometimes through experience.
Maren Schroeder filed a petition to add PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to that list. It’s something, she is all too familiar with.
“I myself am a victim of domestic violence and I have struggled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for the last five, six, seven years,” she says.
Schroeder is the founder of Sensible Minnesota, an organization that advocates for policy change and assist those harmed by cannabis prohibition.
Currently, organizations like Sensible Minnesota cannot submit petitions, however they can throw their support behind them. So Schroeder petitioned as a patient.
“PTSD made sense,” she explains. “Most states allow PTSD as a qualifying condition and it was a condition that was talked about a lot when Minnesota was working this out in the legislature.”
She also says there’s research to back it up.
“There’s physiological properties with memory recall in the brain that are affected by the endocannabinoid system. So some initial research that we reviewed came out showing that at mid-range levels; THC was very beneficial to patients with PTSD in reducing anxiety, reducing flashbacks, reducing nightmares.”
In her petition, she also mentioned the need for more treatment options for PTSD patients.
“We have a large veteran population, veterans are committing suicide at rates of 22 per day. We have to find something more to put in the tool box,” Schroder adds.
Another petition submitted that Sensible Minnesota is throwing support behind is one to allow whole plant as an ingestion method. Currently, patients in Minnesota receive their cannabis treatments in oil or pill form. But Schroder says it would bring the cost down for patients if they had the option to purchase the flower for vaporizing.
The petition period will be closing on July 31st. The commissioner will then hold public comment periods before a decision will be made by December 1st.
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Full Article: Would Cannabis Help Treat Patients Suffering From PTSD?
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