Pa. may expand medical marijuana options

Pennsylvania could soon make more conditions eligible for medical marijuana treatment.

The state Medical Marijuana Advisory Board in November approved a new process for amending and expanding the state’s list of 21 serious conditions for which patients may use cannabis as treatment, Department of Health spokesman Nate Wardle said.

In the coming weeks, the board will begin accepting research-based petitions to add specific conditions to the list of qualifying ailments, with tentative plans to discuss and vote on the first round of submissions during its next meeting Feb. 1.

Cannabis to help treat anxiety, depression?

Patient advocates say they’re hopeful the change will extend eligibility to patients who have medical issues that could benefit from cannabis but remain excluded from obtaining it legally - such as those grappling with depression, anxiety and insomnia.

“Pennsylvanians have been using marijuana illicitly for years to treat a wide variety of conditions not on the state list,” said Dr. Roxanne Rick of Cannabis Care Certification Centers, which aims to offer people an alternative to opioids for the treatment of pain and addiction.

Since medical marijuana became available in Pennsylvania in February, the four-doctor organization has helped more than 1,000 patients with qualifying conditions get certified via offices and mobile outreach in Uniontown, Monroeville, Bethel Park, Delmont and State College.

Most patients turning to medical marijuana have sought help for the qualifying conditions of chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, Rick said.

Some are able to obtain a card to assist with an issue such as migraines — which isn’t on the list — if a physician describes their migraine problem as chronic pain, or recurring pain that lasts more than 90 days. Others benefit from marijuana as relief for an unlisted health issue such as anxiety only because they also have a qualifying condition such as chronic pain.

“We definitely do get people calling us who we know would benefit from the medical marijuana, but they don’t fall into those 21 slots,” said Dr. Elizabeth Spaar of Spectrum Family Practice, which focuses on treating children and adults for addiction, autism and PANS/ PANDAS infection-induced autoimmune conditions. “Anxiety is a common one. It’s pretty well-established that marijuana is very helpful for treating anxiety, but it is not a qualifying condition, and so if they don’t have another qualifying condition to go along with it, we can’t offer it to them, which is extremely frustrating.”

Dr. John Metcalf of Medical Marijuana Solutions said medical marijuana could be extended to help not only unlisted mental health issues but also many types of physical issues, from migraines to Lyme Disease.

“As we expand the list, that’s to the benefit of the patient,” he said.

Metcalf and Spaar noted that Pennsylvania is among less than a handful of states that included autism on its medical marijuana list, with children typically taking cannabis in tincture or capsule form.

“There are a lot of states where autism parents have been working very hard to get it included on the list and have not been successful, so we are fortunate in that,” Spaar said. “It’s extremely helpful for the aggression and rage that those kids can get, it’s also very helpful for obsessing. They tend to have a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety, and when they’re able to calm a lot of that down, they tend to make progress and develop mentally.”

In the spring, the state board added terminal illness and opioid addiction to the list of qualifying conditions.

Physicians want to have more say

Several Western Pennsylvania doctors who prescribe medical marijuana said the new process for amending the state list is encouraging, but they also lamented that it doesn’t go far enough in terms of expanding access to cannabis and giving more authority to the physicians who prescribe it.

“I would love if it if they would recognize the autonomy in medical decision-making of a physician instead of placing restraints on us,” Spaar said.