More medical pot uses OK’d

HARTFORD — Patients with migraines, rheumatoid arthritis and muscular dystrophy soon will be able to treat their ailments with medical marijuana in Connecticut.

The Legislature’s Regulation Review Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to expand the approved uses of medical marijuana for palliative care.

The state anticipates a “relatively significant increase” of patients joining the medical marijuana program as a result of these new uses, said Lora Rae Anderson, spokesman for the Department of Consumer Protection, which oversees the state’s medical marijuana program.

The agency does not have a formal estimate of how many patients will benefit from the change. More than 27,000 patients use the state’s medical marijuana program and nearly 1,000 physicians can recommend patient participation, Anderson said. Connecticut has nine dispensaries.

The new regulation, recommended by the Connecticut Medical Marijuana Board of Physicians, adds eight new conditions that can be treated with medical marijuana in patients 18 and older. They include intractable headaches, pain associated with fibromyalgia, facial pain and a shingles complication known as postherpetic neuralgia.

Patients younger than 18 can treat muscular dystrophy and a genetic disorder known as brittle bone disease with medical marijuana. The new additions expand the approved uses of medical marijuana to 30 for adults and eight for minors, including cancer, HIV and epilepsy.

“We're pleased that the Legislature has accepted these regulations, allowing more patients with severe debilitating conditions, including intractable headache syndromes, to have access to this medication,” said Michelle Seagull, commissioner of the state DCP. “We look forward to serving more patients through the medical marijuana program, and are proud that this medication has been such an effective treatment option for thousands of patients in our state.”

The new regulation will become effective after the department submits it to the Secretary of the State’s office — likely next week, said state Sen. Paul Doyle, D-Wethersfield, chairman of the committee.

Rep. Diana Urban, DNorth Stonington, said 15 constituents contacted her in favor of adding the new palliative uses of medical marijuana. Many experience severe facial pain.

“This (medical marijuana) gave them the ability to proceed with their lives,” she said.

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Advanced Grow Labs’ Steve Hobart tends to marijuana plants. Patients with migraines, rheumatoid arthritis and muscular dystrophy will soon be able to treat their ailments with medical marijuana in Connecticut.