Hoban Law Group Heads to Senate State Affairs Today
Will Colorado Add PTSD to List of Qualifying Conditions for Medical Marijuana Treatment?
(Denver, CO) – Hoban Law Group is excited to announce that the SB17-17 Post-traumatic Stress Bill, to add Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for treatment by medical marijuana, has been scheduled for its first committee hearing Monday, January 30th in Senate State Affairs. Though this is the first phase, and a decision today is unlikely, Hoban Law Group does believe this bill will have the support it needs to come out of committee and move to the next phase of the process.
Testimony will be limited today as is suggested by the Senate bill sponsor. Hoban Law Group sent a Call to Action to advocates of the bill with a suggested letter and list of email addresses and phone numbers to contact committee members as an alternative way to show support of the bill at this phase.
Additional Background:
Medical marijuana provides a safer alternative for many patients. Existing treatments for PTSD, primarily pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, have limitations and do not necessarily result in effective treatment. Some patients experience high potential for addiction to opioids and other prescription drugs.
Colorado is the only state that has formally denied a request to add PTSD to its list of approved conditions for use of medical marijuana. The Colorado Board of Health, within the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment has not added a single medical condition in the 16 years since Colorado voters amended the state constitution to approve the medical use of marijuana. In the Board’s decision to deny the petition to add PTSD, they took the position that the petition must be accompanied by studies of the same quality that the FDA uses to approve new pharmaceutical drugs, which are not currently available because the Drug Enforcement Agency continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance. This standard flies in the face of the many observational and clinical studies that show therapeutic benefit for the treatment of PTSD and the many states across the country that have chosen to allow it as a covered condition.
Currently in the U.S., 20 states, Guam and Puerto Rico, have approved PTSD on their medical conditions for veterans and the national American Legion has also approved use of medical cannabis use for their veterans.
About Hoban Law Group: Founded in 2008, Hoban Law Group is the leading international law firm specializing in cannabis and hemp law and policy. Headquartered in Denver, the firm offers expert legal and business law counsel across the United States and in Puerto Rico, Central and South America.