Pols, Whoopi: Say yes to pot for menstrual cramps
TRENTON (AP) — With a nod to Whoopi Goldberg, lawmakers in New Jersey announced legislation that would loosen the state’s strict medical marijuana law to allow women to get pot-based products to ease menstrual cramps.
Democratic Assembly members Tim Eustace, Grace Spencer and Angelica Jimenez introduced the bill on Thursday, noting in a news release that their move follows the actress’ collaboration with a maker of organic marijuana edibles on a line of medical cannabis designed to relieve menstrual pain.
“People have this puritanical idea that it’s a bunch of potheads sitting in these dispensaries, but there are some very sick patients in need,” Eustace said.
Taylor West, the deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a nonprofit trade group, said she’s not aware of any other state that specifically list cramps as an ailment authorized for medical marijuana use.
But she said that it has likely been prescribed for menstrual cramps in states where doctors have more leeway in prescribing medical marijuana.
“For many women, the response to pain so severe that it causes them to vomit or faint is either, ‘Just deal with it,’ or a prescription drug that may not even alleviate their symptoms,” Jimenez said.